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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26692579">Drowning in the Depths</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnysmilessss/pseuds/sunnysmilessss'>sunnysmilessss</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged up characters, Alternate Universe - Pirates, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Historical, M/M, Pirate Bokuto Koutarou, Prince Akaashi Keiji, Some Original Male Characters, Supernatural Elements</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:35:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>44,646</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26692579</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnysmilessss/pseuds/sunnysmilessss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Akaashi Keiji is the Prince of Hina, a wealthy kingdom known for hating pirates—the only people who pose a threat to their kingdom. As much as he's been taught to fear them, he's been taught to hate them even more. </p><p>But when Akaashi is forced to sail across the ocean to do business with another kingdom, the last thing he expects is to be taken hostage by the most fearsome pirate captain, Bokuto Koutarou.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>200</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>654</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Constantly Drowning.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Akaashi has never liked the ocean.</p><p>Maybe because it was so vast and wide, and it was easy to get lost and disppear, never to be heard from again. </p><p>Maybe because the thought of swimming in the water and looking down to see no bottom made Akaashi’s heart race. </p><p>But maybe it was because the water reminded Akaashi of how he’s felt almost his entire life; like he was drowning. </p><p>Akaashi was the Prince of the Kingdom of Hina. And while he could have everything he ever wanted and more, he still felt like he was missing something. </p><p>Akaashi couldn’t say what he wanted to say, he’d always have to bite his tongue; he couldn’t do what he wanted to do, with guards always standing outside of his room; and he always had to act prim and proper around <em>everyone</em>, even his parents. </p><p>And when Akaashi’s father told him they had to travel across the ocean to the Kingdom of Croria, so he could do some business and Akaashi could see his fiancée, a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. </p><p>The dread was still there, as heavy as a rock, as Akaashi looked out at the horizon, the ocean seemingly disappearing into the orange sunset. </p><p>He rested his hands on the railings, making sure his back was as straight as a board just in case his father came to talk to him. </p><p>Something glinted into Akaashi’s eyes, and he brought his hand up and held out in front of him. The silver promise ring around his left, fourth finger with a blue diamond embedded into it looked back at him. </p><p>His fiancée gave it to him when they met a year ago, as a ‘promise’ they would get married, but it was already inevitable. Akaashi’s Kingdom and his fiancée’s Kingdom were two of the most strongest and richest ones, and by them getting married, it would only make their Kingdoms prosper even more. </p><p>People told Akaashi he would get used to the ring, and in no time it would feel like it wasn’t even there. But to him, it was still heavy. It felt like the anchor that kept pulling him down into the deep depths of the water.</p><p>Another thing that Akaashi didn’t like about the ocean were the people that claimed it. </p><p>Pirates. </p><p>Whenever Akaashi thought he saw a boat in the distance, his heart would start to race. Their boat was practically a sitting duck out on the water, with the fancy white paint, the sails with their Kingdom flag, and the royal gaurds roaming the deck. </p><p>Akaashi would have been a bit more relaxed if they took a boat that didn’t scream ‘WE’RE ROYALTY,’ especially because royal boats were being targeted by pirates. </p><p>Every royal ship that has sailed on the ocean between Kingdoms has been attacked by pirates. Thankfully no one was ever killed, but many precious goods like silk clothes, jewelry, and spices were stolen. </p><p>No one of actual royalty were ever on the ships that were attacked. A shiver crawled up Akaashi's spine at the thought of what would happen to <em>them</em> if they were attacked by pirates. </p><p>Akaashi pushed the thought out of his mind. He didn’t want to think about it, because it wasn’t going to happen. </p><p>“Your Highness.” </p><p>Akaashi turned around to face the royal guard, who bowed deeply. The guard wore their Kingdom's colors, a black guard uniform and a purple sash across his chest. </p><p>“Your father requests your prescence.” </p><p>Akaashi looked back at the ocean, the sun cut in half by the water on the horizon. Akaashi narrowed his eyes, thinking he saw a small black dot, possibly a ship—</p><p>“Your Highness.”</p><p>“Yes,” Akaashi answered, looking back at the gaurd and away from the sunset. “Right. I'm coming.” </p><p>He followed the guard across the deck, and instead of going up the stairs on each end of the boat leading up to the wheel and captain’s quarters, the guard led him through a door and down some stairs. </p><p>They arrived at the room, and the guard knocked, waited for Akaashi’s father to say ‘come in,’ and opened the door for Akaashi. </p><p>The King was sitting in a small, dimly lit room, with the only source of light being a couple of candles sitting on the desk his father was sitting at. It was strewn with paperwork–probably the business they were going to the Kingdom or Croria for. </p><p>Akaashi took a seat, making sure his back was straight, his shoulders were squared, and his chin was held high. Though he wanted nothing more than to melt into the seat and relax. </p><p>“What were you doing up there?” his father asked, his eyes staying focused on the paperwork in front of him. </p><p>“Nothing,” Akaashi said immediately. “I was admiring the sunset.” </p><p>“You know you’re lucky I took you on this trip,” his father said. “If you didn't have to come, I would have kept you as far away from the ocean as possible.” </p><p>Akaashi clenched his hands together, his knuckles turning white. He wanted to yell at his father to stop treating him like a child when he was already twenty-four years old, and to tell him that he’s never had an affinity for the ocean or pirates—but he knew he couldn’t. His father would never listen to him. </p><p>“Yes, father,” Akaashi said softly, bowing his head. </p><p>“Go off to your room,” his father said, the sound of paper rustling as he sorted through his work. “I don't want you up on deck until we've arrived.”</p><p>Akaashi held back a sigh. He exited the room and closed the door as softly as he could. Instead of turning right and going up the stairs, he turned left down a small hallway. </p><p>He entered his room, where there was a desk to the left and a double bed with a mattress that practically hugged Akaashi when he laid down on it. </p><p>Akaashi pulled off his black boots and laid down on the bed. He didn't bother to pull the sheets over him due to the humidity of the room. </p><p>He closed his eyes. The soft rocking of the boat, instead of lulling him to sleep, made him feel sick. But he willed himself to sleep as hard as he could, because he didn’t want to think about how miserable his life was anymore. </p><p>*            *            * </p><p>Akaashi woke up to yelling.</p><p>He felt a little out of it as his eyes adjusted to the room. He thought that it was already morning and they made it to the port of the Kingdom of Croria, but when sunlight wasn’t streaming through the porthole window of Akaashi’s room, his blood ran cold. </p><p>They weren’t at the port yet. They were still sailing on the ocean. </p><p>Akaashi jumped out of bed and slipped on his black boots before making his way to his bedroom door.</p><p>He could hear the thudding of boots on the wooden deck above his head, as he assumed the guards were running around the deck in a panic.</p><p>Because there was only one possible reason why the guards were yelling... </p><p>“Pirates!” someone shouted. </p><p>Akaashi pushed open his bedroom door and ran down the hallway towards the stairs that led towards the deck. </p><p><em>Dammit</em>. Akaashi <em>knew</em> that something like this would happen if they took their royal boat. If he tried just a little harder to convince his father to take a regular looking boat with no paint and no Kingdom flags, maybe they wouldn’t even be in this situation . </p><p>But their Kingdom was most notorious for killing pirates. Stepping into the Kingdom of Hina as a pirate was practically a death sentence. Someone would be hung for simply stepping foot on a pirate ship. </p><p>Akaashi knew the only reason they took this ship was because of his father’s pride and reputation. </p><p>Akaashi burst through the door leading to the deck. Flashes of black and purple was all he could see as guards ran around the deck like chickens with their heads cut off. </p><p>To his left, Akaashi could see a giant pirate ship approaching them. His heart started to hammer against his chest. It had to be twice the size of their ship, and it looked more like a scary creature with the faded, black wood the ship was made out of. </p><p>Akaashi widened his eyes and his breath got caught in his throat. The moonlight illuminated the flags on the approaching pirate ship, which were actually the same as the ones on Akaashi's ship, except there was a giant red ‘X’ on theirs. </p><p>“Keiji!” someone shouted. </p><p>Akaashi snapped his head to looks towards the front of the deck, where his father was. </p><p>“Go back down to your room <em>now</em>!” </p><p>Akaashi clenched his fists. His father wasn't saying that to make sure Akaashi was safe. No, he was saying it for the same reason why he didn’t want Akaashi being on deck until they arrived at the Kingdom of Croria. </p><p>Akaashi could <em>help</em>. He <em>wanted</em> to help. His father made him learn how to fence, he could at least defend himself a little bit against a pirate. This was his only opportunity to <em>prove</em> himself. </p><p>“Keiji!” his father yelled again. </p><p>Akaashi spun around, weaving his way through the yelling and running guards. He descended the stairs, but instead of making his way towards his room, he walked into his father’s office. </p><p>He rummaged through his father’s drawers trying to find something, <em>anything</em> that could be used as a weapon, but he only found a small dagger. </p><p>The yelling seemed to get louder. Akaashi heard a couple of louder thuds, and he knew the pirates had finally made it onto their ship. </p><p>Akaashi crawled under the desk, pushing his back up against the wood that would prevent him from being seen if someone were to come in. He pulled his knees up to his chest, gripping onto the dagger like it was a life-source. </p><p>Akaashi’s breath was coming out in short, heavy puffs. He heard loud footsteps thundering down the stairs, and Akaashi only had a second to place a hand over his mouth to quiet down his breathing before the door opened. </p><p>Akaashi felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest as he waited for the door to close or for the sound of footsteps to start walking away from the door.</p><p>Akaashi heard the door close and let out a sigh of relief. He stared at the wall, which was a faint orange from the glow of the candles, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do. </p><p>Akaashi’s blood ran cold when he heard a creak inside the room, and a shadow of a person appeared on the wall through the orange glow of the candle. </p><p>“Found you.”</p><p>Adreneline kicked in, and Akaashi crawled out from under the desk as the sound of approaching echoed in his ears. He turned to his right, and without even looking, Akaashi grabbed one of the candles on the desk and chucked it at the figure in the room. </p><p>The figure yelled in surprise, and Akaashi darted out the door and ran up the stairs. </p><p>It was then that it occured to him that the yelling and the sounds of the footsteps running around on the deck had stopped. It was completely silent. </p><p>Akaashi quietly opened the door, and the sight made his heart fall down to his feet. </p><p>The deck was littered with guards sprawled out on the wood. The moonlight illuminated a dark liquid flowing from some of the bodies, and a large knot formed in Akaashi’s stomach, because he knew what it was. </p><p>Out of every royal ship that pirates have attacked, no one was ever killed before. What caused the pirates to kill this time around? </p><p>Akaashi spotted a different colored piece of clothing among the bodies, and before he could think, he started running towards his father. </p><p>“Captain!” someone yelled.</p><p>Akaashi’s father laid on his right side, and relief flooded through Akaashi when his father sucked in a deep breath. Akaashi knelt down, hesitantly placing his hand on his father’s shoulder. The small movement made his father’s arm move, exposing a large, dark spot on his white clothes that was spreading along the cloth. </p><p>His father had been stabbed. </p><p>“Keiji!” his father said urgently. </p><p>It was then that Akaashi heard fast, approaching footsteps. Akaashi quickly grabbed a sword from one of the gaurds near him and swung behind himself blindly. He spun around, standing up straight and holding the sword in front of him in defense.</p><p>Fear immediately shot through Akaashi’s body at the size of the man in front of him. Akaashi could tell he was the pirate captain by the long black coat with many buckles and embroidered yellow edges and the black, tri-cornered hat with a white feather dangling from it. </p><p>The captain was a head taller than Akaashi. He had broad shoulders, and the white shirt he was wearing that had many of the buttons un-buttoned exposed a chiseled chest. He could <em>easily</em> overpower Akaashi in a matter of seconds. </p><p>Akaashi could make out a couple of more shadows behind the pirate captain, probably his crew. But they didn’t seem nearly as threatening as the captain did.</p><p>The captain held a hand up to his left cheek, and when he took it away, the familiar dark liquid that stained the deck of the royal ship coated the captain hands and dripped down his cheek. </p><p>Akaashi managed to cut him. He definitely would have preferred it if he made a fatal blow, because there was no way the captain standing in front of him wasn’t absolutely furious. </p><p>“You’re gunna regret that,” the captain said. </p><p>The captain’s bright yellow eyes landed on Akaashi, and Akaashi immediately froze. His hands started to tremble on the sword handle he was holding. </p><p>“Listen,” Akaashi said, trying to keep the fear he felt from showing in his voice. “We're supposed to dock at the Kingdom of Croria in the morning. If a royal ship doesn’t show up at the port—“</p><p>“Tell it to someone who cares, Your <em>Highness</em>,” the captain spat. He took a menancing step towards Akaashi, who took a shaky step back. </p><p>“We have a couple of expensive items below deck,” Akaashi said, desperately trying to get him and his father out of this situation alive. “You can take whatever you want.”</p><p>“<em>You're</em> what I want.” The man walked up to Akaashi until the point of the sword lightly touched his exposed chest. The captain bent down slightly to be eye-level with Akaashi before smirking at him.</p><p>Akaashi gripped onto the sword. All he had to do was push forward. Akaashi should be able to do it; royals absolutely <em>hated</em> pirates. It should be so simple for Akaashi to run the sword through the man’s chest. </p><p>“Keiji,” his father breathed out. </p><p>Akaashi squeezed his eyes shut. But—</p><p>But Akaashi couldn’t do it. </p><p>A chuckle echoed in Akaashi’s ears. Akaashi’s eyes flew open, he felt a hand on his own, and before he could process anything, the cold steel of the sword was pressed against his neck, and an arm snaked around his back. </p><p>Akaashi’s arms were bent at an uncomfortable angle as he still held the sword that the pirate pressed to his neck. The pirate captain looked down at Akaashi with a smug look on his face. </p><p>Akaashi’s body was screaming at him to do something, but the captain was too strong. </p><p>“So...” the pirate started. </p><p>The captain’s strong arm pulled Akaashi flush against his chest. The captain ducked down, his breath tickling Akaashi’s ear. </p><p>Akaashi gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe he was so close to such a lowly pirate. </p><p>“I’m gunna take you.” </p><p>Akaashi heard footsteps coming from behind the captain and his father yelling at someone to stop before he felt a white hot pain at the back of his head, and his world went black.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. From Prince to Hostage.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The back of Akaashi’s head ached with a dull pain when he woke up.</p><p> He could feel the hot sun beating down on his face, making it feel like he was on fire. When he cracked an eye open, the white glow of the sun was the only thing he could see. From the high temperature, it was clearly the afternoon.</p><p>Akaashi groaned, squeezing his eyes shut to protect them from the intruding rays. He intended to rub his eyes with his hand, but when he tried to move them, he was met with resistance and the sound of jingling metal echoing in his ears. </p><p>Akaashi’s heart rate spiked and his eyes flew open. Last night’s events flooded back into his hazy mind. </p><p>His surroundings finally became clear to him. He was sitting against something hard, and his hands were chained above his head. Something was wrapped around his arms, keeping them flush with the hard thing he was against.</p><p>Akaashi could smell the salty sea and could hear the waves crashing over each other in the distance.</p><p>He could hear people laughing, talking. The sounds of footsteps creaking on the deck. The wooden, faded black deck.</p><p>“Ah,” someone said. “You’re awake.”</p><p>The bright glow of the sun was blocked by something, and Akaashi could finally open his eyes fully. When he looked up at whatever was blocking the sun, Akaashi flinched. </p><p>The pirate captain from before was in front of him, sitting on a crate. The man placed his elbow on his thigh and rested his chin in his hand, a lopsided smile on his face. Instead of the tri-cornered hat, the captain wore a black bandana around his head, which now showed his spiked up, two-toned grey hair. </p><p>A small, white bandage sat on his left cheek bone, where Akaashi managed to slice the skin the night before.</p><p>He wasn’t wearing his long black coat anymore, but he was still wearing the white shirt that showed off most of his abdomen and chest. </p><p>“See something you like?” the captain asked, voice low. </p><p>Akaashi scowled, causing the pirate to laugh. Akaashi brought his knees up to his chest, trying to add as much space as possible between him and the pirate. </p><p>“Where’s my father?” Akaashi asked, looking around the deck. He couldn’t see any sign of him anywhere, but Akaashi only had a limited scope of vision. His father was probably below deck, having his wound treated; because his father would be useless to the pirates if he was dead. </p><p>“Avoiding the question?” the captain asked teasingly. </p><p>Akaashi clenched his fists. He didn’t appreciate the teasing from the pirate. “I asked you a <em>question</em>,” Akaashi hissed. “I’m a <em>prince</em>. When I ask a question, you answer it.”  </p><p>Akaashi tried his best to act the way he thought his father would in a situation like this. Hopefully, it would show the captain that Akaashi wasn’t weak and that he wouldn’t put up with any nosense. </p><p>“Oooh.” The captain raised his grey eyebrows in pure amusement. “You’re a fiesty one. You act more like a princess than a prince.”</p><p>Akaashi heard laughs around him, and that’s when he noticed all the people around the deck, watching the two of them interact. There were about five of them. Akaashi tried to make himself smaller as humiliation bloomed in his chest. </p><p>“You know,” the captain said, “you’re prettier than some of the princesses too. Like—oh, that dreaded Princess of Croria.” </p><p>The pirate crew laughed again, and Akaashi glared at the captain and everyone who was laughing. </p><p>“That’s my <em>fiancée</em>,” Akaashi seethed. Akaashi wasn’t in love her, but he cared for her like a sister. And if his father taught him anything, it was to <em>never</em> let a pirate talk badly about royalty. “You have no right to—”</p><p>“Then you won’t be needing this anymore,” the pirate cut Akaashi off. He stood up, and Akaashi coward back against the mast he was leaning on, clenching his eyes shut. The pirate captain’s hands were at Akaashi’s own, and Akaashi immediately clenched his fists shut. </p><p>The captain was trying to take his promise ring.</p><p>Akaashi thought about it. His ring was clearly expensive, and all pirates wanted money. If the pirate sells it in one of the Kingdoms, royalty will eventually catch wind that the Prince of Hina’s promise ring was circulating around the market, and people will realize something is really wrong. </p><p>People might think that their ship just sunk if it didn’t make it to the port of Croria–they might not even think that pirates were the cause of it. If Akaashi’s ring makes it into the market, though, then it would alert people he was still alive. </p><p>Akaashi finally relaxed his hands, and the pirate captain slid the ring off his dainty finger.  </p><p>Akaashi felt guilty at the small sense of relief he felt when the ring was off of his finger. If it were any other situation, like the engagement being called off, Akaashi would be jumping for joy internally.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart dropped when the pirate captain tossed the ring towards a tall, black haired man. </p><p>“There you go, Kageyama,” the captain said. Kageyama admired the ring in his hands, his mouth in an ‘o’ shape and his eyes sparkling. Akaashi gritted his teeth. That ring was probably the most expensive thing the pirate has ever held. “You and Hinata can get engaged now.”</p><p>“Thank you, Captain Bokuto!” </p><p>Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows at the pirate captain’s name. He’s heard his father mention the name before in passing, but it was a long time ago, when Akaashi was a teenager. There could be no way his father was talking about the pirate captain before him—he looked young, maybe Akaashi’s age or a couple of years older.</p><p>Bokuto sat back down on the crate in front of Akaashi. “Aw, did you let me take the ring because you thought I was going to sell it?”</p><p>Akaashi simply glared, hoping that he looked at least a little bit menancing. All Bokuto was doing was midly pissing Akaashi off. By now, Akaashi thought that Bokuto would be torturing him or <em>something</em>. </p><p>“What are you planning to do with me?” Akaashi asked. He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared of the answer. </p><p>A mischievous smile spread across Bokuto's face. “Who knows? I'm still figuring it out, princess.” </p><p>Akaashi's glare intensified. All the things Bokuto was saying to him were completely disrespectful. He was behaving the exact opposite way someone should be behaving in front of a prince. </p><p>Akaashi brought his leg back and shot it out with the intent to kick the crate out from under Bokuto. “I will <em>not</em> let a lowly pirate like you call me tha—”</p><p>Akaashi gasped, the rest of his words getting stuck in his throat. Bokuto grabbed Akaashi's calf and pulled his leg towards him. Akaashi's back slid down the mast and his lower back rested against the deck. His arms were strained, as the rope wrapped around them didn't allow the chains around his wrists to slip past. </p><p>Bokuto straddled Akaashi's abdomen and grabbed his cheeks, angling his head up so Akaashi had no other choice but to stare into Bokuto's crazed yellow eyes. </p><p>“Listen <em>closely</em>,” Bokuto hissed. "Last time I checked, I'm the captain of this ship. The captain does what ever the fuck they want. On the sea, <em>I’m</em> the highest ranked. You might be a prince, but as long as you're on this boat, you're my hostage. And hostages don’t talk back—they do <em>what ever</em> the captain tells them to.” </p><p>Akaashi tried to get his head out of Bokuto’s grip, but his finger’s just tightened around Akaashi’s cheeks. There was definitely going to be marks afterwards.</p><p>“You better get used to acting like your little castle servants towards me, princess.”</p><p>Bokuto’s fingers relaxed the slightest bit, and Akaashi took the opportunity to rip his head out of his grip. His heart was beating loudly in his ears. He was too scared to think of anything that his father would say, so he stayed silent as Bokuto got up.</p><p>Akaashi expected Bokuto to smirk down at him from seeing him so scared, but Bokuto’s shoulders were shaking, his fists were clenched, and a scowl settled on his face.</p><p>Why was he so angry?</p><p>“Hinata,” Bokuto snapped, his eyes not straying from Akaashi even once.</p><p>The red-head, who was cleaning the deck, perked his head up at his name being called. “Captain?”</p><p>“Teach the hostage how to hold a broom,” Bokuto said. “He’s going to be cleaning the deck from now on, and I’m sure the silver spoon he was born with didn’t allow him to do any labour.”</p><p>”Aye aye, Captain.”</p><p>Akaashi was still getting over the fear running through his body to say anything about the slight dig towards him.</p><p>Bokuto turned around and stocked off towards the back of the boat, his fists still clenched. A man with spikey black hair took off after him.</p><p>Akaashi flinched when the red-head, Hinata, appeared in front of him. Hinata untied the ropes that were keeping Akaashi’s arms up against the mast, and his hands fell down along with the rope onto his lap.</p><p>Akaashi was about to say thank you, but then he remembered that was something a noble shouldn’t say to a pirate, no matter the situation.</p><p>Akaashi rubbed his sore arms the best he could with the cuffs around his wrists. The chain in between the cuffs wasn’t long, but it wasn’t too short. Akaashi could spread his arms apart about ten centimeters.</p><p>Akaashi got up, stumbling a little bit as the blood rushed to his legs.</p><p>Hinata placed his hand on Akaashi’s upper arm to keep him steady. Akaashi flinched away, because he was supposed to.</p><p>”Here,” Hinata said, shoving a broom into Akaashi’s hands. It was a little difficult to hold it, because of the cuffs. God, he was going to look so stupid.</p><p>”Are you going to take these off?” Akaashi snapped, noticing the other pirates around the boat looking at him with amusement in their eyes.</p><p>“Only the captain has the keys to open them,” Hinata said, shrugging. “But when he gets in a mood, he’s pretty uncooperative, and it takes awhile for him to get out of it.”</p><p>Akaashi’s hope for getting the cuffs off dwindled with every word Hinata said. He mumbled ‘never mind’ before starting to sweep the whole deck, which was huge. It was hard with the way he was holding it, and his cheeks started to heat up with every snicker or laugh he heard.</p><p>While Akaashi cleaned the deck, his mind wandered. Were people looking for him and his father? Did people even know that they were taken by pirates? Akaashi had absolutely no clue on what the pirates did to their royal ship. Did they sink it? Or did they let it get to the port and cause an uproar with all the dead guards strewn across the deck?</p><p>Akaashi’s stomach churned just at the thought of the carnage the pirates caused.</p><p>After Akaashi finished sweeping, Hinata threw a small sponge at him and told him to scrub the whole deck until it was spotless, and that order came from the captain.</p><p>Akaashi angrily cleaned every small, dirty bit of the deck. With every scrub, the taunting rattling of the chains on the cuffs echoed in Akaashi’s ears. Akaashi was following Bokuto’s orders out of fear, but the fact that he was following them at all was pathetic. What made it worse was Akaashi could feel Bokuto’s eyes bore into him as he cleaned.</p><p>What would his father think, if he could see Akaashi now?</p><p>Akaashi cleaned the deck until the sun was disappearing behind the horizon and the sky was swirling with orange, pink, and purple clouds.</p><p>Akaashi looked around the deck. All the crew disappeared below deck for something a while ago, but Akaashi didn’t know what. His wrists and shoulders were aching too much for him to think about it.</p><p>All Akaashi could hear were the waves slowly lapping at the side of the ship. It should be calming, but it only reminded Akaashi of how he was a hostage on a pirate ship, with no way of knowing when he was going to get off.</p><p>Akaashi walked to the front of the boat. There was a wooden railing that prevented someone from falling over the edge, but it’s height only reached Akaashi’s hips. He easily swung his legs over it and sat on the railing.</p><p>The chains weren’t long enough for Akaashi to place his hands on either side of him on the railing, so he stretched his left arm over his torso and held onto the railing with a vice-like grip.</p><p>The wind combed through his hair, pushing it back from his face. He stared into the dark water below, at the front of the ship slowly cutting through the water.</p><p>Akaashi couldn’t believe he was in this situation. He’d become acustomed to feeling like he was drowning after every time he acted like how he thought his father would, after every time he said something that he thought his father would say, after every time he talked to a woman he was supposed to marry but he didn’t love. Each time he couldn’t act like himself, he’d feel like he was slowly sinking farther and farther into the depths, but he was <em>used</em> to it.</p><p>Now, being on this ship, he felt like he was at the bottom of the ocean. Nothing could get worse. And trying to claw his way up to the surface would be absolutely useless. If he did somehow escape and go back to his kingdom, his feelings wouldn’t change. He’d still feel like he was floating in the dark abyss of the water with no way out.</p><p>He’d never reach the surface, even if he did go back to his normal life.</p><p>Akaashi scooted closer towards the edge of the ship. He already felt like he was drowning metaphorically all of his life, would actually drowning really be that bad?</p><p>”I wouldn’t do that if I were you, princess.”</p><p>Akaashi jumped slightly, turning his head to look back at the deck. Bokuto stood there, his arms crossed over his chest. The sunset cast an orange glow on the left side of the man’s face and on his long, black pirate coat that he was now wearing. Despite calling Akaashi that demeaning name, there was no hint of teasing in his voice.</p><p>It seemed that Bokuto was finally out of the ‘mood’ Hinata had talked about.</p><p>Akaashi stayed silent, staring at the man in front of him. Bokuto was the cherry on top of the reasons why Akaashi was on the railing right now, wanting to plunge into the murky depths below.</p><p>Bokuto sighed softly. He shrugged off his black coat and laid it out neatly beside him. He then took off his boots and placed them beside each other on the deck.</p><p>”If you jump from there, you’re going to get pulled under the ship,” Bokuto said. “I’m going to have a hard time saving you.”</p><p>Just the thought of that happening sent fear racing through Akaashi’s heart. He looked down at the water, gripping onto the railing so hard that his knuckles turned white.</p><p>”Why would you try and save me?” Akaashi asked. “A royal dying is a benefit to you, isn’t it?”</p><p>Akaashi heard footsteps approaching. Akaashi’s whole body tensed up when a rough hand slipped over his own ones, and another hand settled on his waist.</p><p>Akaashi felt Bokuto’s chest press against his back. “Not if it’s you,” Bokuto said softly, right next to Akaashi’s ear.</p><p>Akaashi jumped in surprise, his heart falling down into his toes as he felt himself slip from the railing. His stomach went up into his throat, and a terrified yell escaped him at the realization he was actually going to fall into the water and get sucked under the ship.</p><p>His fall was abruptly stopped as he felt a tug on his wrists. The sound of the water lapping against the boat was louder now, and Akaashi peered down. He was dangling halfway down the boat.</p><p>Akaashi looked up, his heart beating against his chest. Bokuto leaned on the railing, gripping onto both of Akaashi’s hands. He made no move to start pulling Akaashi back up onto the deck.</p><p>”Your heart is racing, princess,” Bokuto said, slipping his index finger under the cuff and pressing it against Akaashi’s wrist. Akaashi could feel his heart beat against the small amount of pressure Bokuto applied to his skin. “Did you really want to jump off the ship to your death?”</p><p>Did he? Up on the railing was the first time he’s ever considered it, but he’d never actually do it. Akaashi knew that if he wasn’t interupted, he would have thought of something to keep him going, and he would have got back onto the deck and carried on like nothing happened. But he didn’t want to admit that and give Bokuto the wrong idea.</p><p>”Bokuto!” Akaashi gasped, gripping onto Bokuto’s hands as tight as he possibly could. “Pull me–back up!”</p><p>”It’s Captain Bokuto to you,” he said, but there was no anger in his voice. He still made no movement to pull Akaashi up, but Bokuto did grip onto his dainty hands a little tighter. “And weren’t you raised in a castle? Where are you manners?”</p><p>Akaashi was too scared to get mad over Bokuto’s teasing, so Akaashi decided to play along with him so he didn’t <em>die</em>. “Please!” he said in between deep breaths.</p><p>“So you weren’t going to jump off?” Bokuto asked.</p><p>Akaashi shook his head, tears pricking at his eyes. “No. No, I wasn’t!”</p><p>Akaashi didn’t see why it mattered to Bokuto that much, but Akaashi didn’t think of it any further when he started to be lifted up. He breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>Bokuto pulled Akaashi over the railing. “I thought they got to you...” he said softly.</p><p>Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. It was like Bokuto was talking to him in riddles. Akaashi had no idea what he meant.</p><p>Instead of Bokuto placing Akaashi down, he slipped his arms under the back of Akaashi’s legs and under his back.</p><p>Akaashi’s whole body was tensed up, his shoulders up to his ears and his arms and hands against his chest. Bokuto pulled him closer to his chest, and Akaashi snapped. Akaashi’s hands shot out and pushed at Bokuto’s chest roughly, causing him to stumble back slightly. Akaashi fell out of Bokuto’s arms, and his back connected with the hard deck.</p><p>Akaashi winced at the pain blooming on his lower back, but the cuffs around his wrists didn’t allow him to reach around and rub the pain away.</p><p>Rough footsteps approached Akaashi, his heart rate spiking. He turned around just in time to lift his arms up in front of him in defense.</p><p>Bokuto yanked up the chain in between the cuffs with two fingers. Akaashi’s body followed, almost sitting upright. He was leaning back just far enough that if Bokuto let go of the chain, Akaashi wouldn’t be able to pull himself up in a sitting position–he’d just fall back onto the deck.</p><p>Akaashi strained his neck to look up at Bokuto, who had a soft scowl on his face.</p><p>”A little ‘thank you’ would be nice, princess,” Bokuto said roughly. “I did just save your life.” </p><p>Akaashi glared up at Bokuto. He wouldn’t have slipped on the railing if it wasn’t for him. Akaashi would have gone back on the deck and continued scrubbing it like nothing happened.</p><p>When Akaashi stayed silent, Bokuto let go of the chain. Akaashi fell back, his head connecting with the deck. Akaashi squeezed his eyes shut at the pain, a wince escaping his throat.</p><p>”Looks like they got to you in some aspects,” Bokuto said. Akaashi heard the sound of cloth rubbing against skin, and he assumed Bokuto put on his coat and boots.</p><p>Akaashi turned onto his side, squinting up at Bokuto who had just finished putting his coat back on. Bokuto turned his head to look down at him.</p><p>“It’s okay,” Bokuto said. “I’ll get to the real you.”</p><p>Akaashi watched Bokuto walk away from him and disappear below the deck.</p><p>He rested his head against the deck, Bokuto’s words running through his head.</p><p>Akaashi had no idea what Bokuto was talking about.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Unfair Trade.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Akaashi stayed laying on the deck for what seemed like an eternity. The back of his head ached, and when he tried to think of what Bokuto could have possibly meant, it just made his head ache even more. At least the pain in his lower back finally faded away after some time. </p><p>Akaashi finally lifted his head when the moon was high in the sky and the stars sparkled like diamonds against the black night.</p><p>That was one thing that was pretty about the open ocean—there was no light pollution, allowing the stars to shine their brightest. </p><p>Everyone seemed to have gone to bed already. The beds for the crew had to be below deck, because Akaashi didn’t hear any footsteps on the deck for the hour or two he had to be laying there. Then again, his mind was so clouded with thoughts that someone could have walked right up to him and he wouldn’t have noticed. </p><p>Akaashi huffed, pushing himself up into a standing position. No one had talked to him about sleeping arrangements, but it was fine by him. Akaashi would rather sleep with the sharks than be in a cramped space with the pirate crew. </p><p>The mast that Akaashi was tied up to earlier that day beckoned to him. He sat down, resting his back against the mast. It was extremely uncomfortable and reignited the pain in his lower back, but it would have to do. </p><p>Afterall, if they didn’t give Akaashi any sleeping arrangements, it meant he wouldn’t be staying on the ship for very long. Or at least he <em>hoped</em> that was the reason. </p><p>When Akaashi woke up, his back and head did not feel as if he slept upright against a wooden beam. His eyes flew open, his heart racing. Instead of seeing blue skies and the open ocean, he saw wooden walls and white sheets. </p><p>Akaashi sat up straight in the bed he was in, the white silk sheets that covered him now piling onto his lap. His eyes darted around the room. </p><p>It was definitely Bokuto’s room. Akaashi could tell from his signature black jacket and tri-cornered hat hanging from a coat rack in the right corner. There was a desk against the wall opposite the bed, with clothes strewn all over it. To the left, on the same wall the bed was against, was the wooden door leading into the room. </p><p>Akaashi’s heart rate slowed down once he realized Bokuto wasn’t in the room or beside him in the bed. Akaashi didn’t know what he would have done if he woke up beside Bokuto. Probably scramble off the bed, run out of the room, and take nosedive off the side of the boat.</p><p>The cuffs were still around Akaashi’s wrists. He twirled his wrists around, hearing a couple of satisfying cracks. He wished he could move his arms freely, just for a little bit.</p><p>Akaashi wandered out of the bedroom. The doorway led into a small room with a desk that faced the door that probably led out towards the deck.</p><p>Papers were strewn all over the desk, with some even hanging off the edges. A large piece if paper sat on top of the pile, and it showcased the map of the seven kingdoms and their oceans. Small islands that Akaashi didn’t know existed were drawn on in random places on the map.</p><p>The Kingdom of Hina was the largest, and it was the western most Kingdom. Akaashi couldn’t tell where their ship might be located on the map, but he guessed they were more than likely heading back towards his Kingdom.</p><p>The amount of ransom money Bokuto would get if he showed up at the port of Hina with Akaashi in shackles and his father wounded would be enormous.</p><p>If that was what Bokuto wanted to get out of capturing Akaashi and keeping him hostage anyway.</p><p>A shiver crawled up Akaashi’s spine at the ridicule him and his family would face once they arrived at the port of Hina.</p><p>The amount of times his father had made speeches about conquering pirates and how he was stronger than them was too many to count. Them showing up at the mercy of pirates would destory his fathers reputation and make him look like a complete fool.</p><p>Akaashi hoped Bokuto would just drop them off at the port, but he knew that would be too good to be true.</p><p>For the next two days, the ship still sailed on the ocean with no Kingdoms in sight. Akaashi was ordered to clean the deck, the room where the crew slept, and clean up after the crew when they were done eating. Akaashi was given food, too, but he only picked at it. It was no where near as good as the food he was served in his castle.</p><p>Akaashi also learned the names of the crew members. There was Kuroo, Bokuto’s first mate, and also the person Akaashi chucked a candle at when they took over the royal ship. There was also Kenma, who was skilled in cartography, and who Akaashi figured had <em>something</em> going on with Kuroo, because Kuroo would kiss his forehead whenever Kenma handed him food.</p><p>In fact, Akaashi thought everyone on the ship had something going on. Kageyama and Hinata were engaged, Kuroo wouldn’t kiss anyone else other than Kenma on the forehead, and there were times where the other two crew mates, Iwaizumi and Oikawa, would get <em>very</em> handsy with each other.</p><p>However, in those two days, Akaashi hadn’t seen or talked to Bokuto once, which he was absolutely fine with. He had no clue where Bokuto was or what he was doing—Akaashi just hoped Bokuto wasn’t planning to do anything crazy when (or even if) they got to the port of Hina.</p><p>Akaashi didn’t know for sure, but he assumed Bokuto wasn’t staying away from him completely—because in those two nights when Akaashi fell asleep against the mast, he woke up in Bokuto’s empty bed in the morning.</p><p>*</p><p>Akaashi was on his knees, scrubbing the deck with a sponge. The sun was high in the sky, beating down on the back of Akaashi's neck and making it uncomfortably hot. He let go of the sponge and stretched his arms above his head.</p><p>Some of the other pirates were around him, manning the ship—but it was different from the last two days Akaashi had spent on deck. Usually the other pirates would be laughig and chatting, but now, they were silent.</p><p>A tense atmosphere settled around them.</p><p>Something was definitely wrong.</p><p>It made Akaashi nervous. Everyone else seemed to be worried about <em>something</em>, and it made Akaashi think that something bad was going to happen to him.</p><p>Were they going back to the Kingdom of Hina? Or was the crew worried about something else entirely, something worse?</p><p>Akaashi didn’t ask. He hadn’t really talked to anyone on the ship in the past two days, and he highly doubted any of the pirate crew members would tell him what was going on.</p><p>He went back to scrubbing the deck. He had nothing better to do, and it gave him the opportunity to think about what he would do once they arrived at the port of Hina. If they were even going there.</p><p>”Captain!” someone shouted, pulling Akaashi from his thoughts.</p><p>When Akaashi looked up, most of the crew were crowded at the front of the boat, looking at something that Akaashi couldn’t see from on his knees. It had to be something odd, given that all the pirates wanted to get a look at it.</p><p>Akaashi got to his feet, walking towards the front of the ship. He took his place in the corner, where there wasn’t a crowd, right next to the railing. He got on his tiptoes to look, and when he saw what it was, his heart began to beat a little faster.</p><p>It was a ship. But it was definitely not a royal one. It was just close enough for Akaashi to see the flag colours—white and teal. None of the Kingdoms had those colours.</p><p>Akaashi had no clue on what happened when pirate ships crossed each other. He assumed all of them were working together, but from the way Hinata yelled for Bokuto and the way everyone was nervously staring at it, Akaashi started to think otherwise.</p><p>”Captain doesn’t want you near the edge of the ship,” someone said, voice deep. Akaashi peeled his eyes away from the other ship and looked at Iwaizumi, who tanned had skin, green eyes, and spikey brown hair. Iwaizumi was also buff, but Bokuto was still bigger and broader than him.</p><p>Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows, taking a step back from him. When the hell did that rule happen? Did Bokuto specifically not tell him so Akaashi would go near the railings and it would give Bokuto the oppotunity to be mean to him about it?</p><p>”Everyone.”</p><p>Akaashi turned his head at the familiar voice he hadn’t heard in two days. Immediately after seeing Bokuto standing on the deck with his arms crossed against his chest, a feeling of nervousness settled in Akaashi’s stomach. He was always nervous and scared around him.</p><p>”Go get ready for the trade,” Bokuto said. “And stop looking so stiff. This is Date Tech we’re talking about. They’re only strong because they use sly tricks to get what they want. We’re stronger and smarter than them, remember that.”</p><p>Everyone bowed, echoing an ‘Aye aye, Captain!’ before starting to disperse.</p><p>Akaashi did not follow suit. He wanted to stay as far away from Bokuto as possible, so he turned around and looked out at the other ship, which was starting to look a lot bigger the closer it got.</p><p>”Not going to greet your captain after not seeing him in so long, princess?”</p><p>Akaashi’s heart fell slightly. Of course Bokuto would come over to talk to him.</p><p>Akaashi spun around, jumping slightly from how close Bokuto was to him. Bokuto placed both hands on the railing, either side of Akaashi’s body. He was leaning forward slightly, their bodies not touching, but Bokuto’s face was eye-level and close to Akaashi’s own.</p><p>Akaashi moved back slightly, the railing hitting his lower back and stopping him from going any farther.</p><p>Akaashi wanted to push Bokuto away, but whenever he thought about doing that, the back of his head started to ache from when Bokuto let him fall back onto the deck—a constant reminder of what would happen again if Akaashi did something to piss Bokuto off.</p><p>Bokuto looked at Akaashi expectantly, tilting his head to the side. Bokuto also seemed to get pissed off when Akaashi stayed silent, too.</p><p>All of their interactions were a win-lose situation—with Akaashi always losing.</p><p>”Hello,” Akaashi said, looking anywhere but at Bokuto’s face. Out of the corner of his eye, Bokuto tilted his head. Humiliation burned in his chest once he remembered what he was supposed to say. “Captain,” he mumbled.</p><p>Bokuto smiled smugly. “Hi, princess,” he said, voice low. “You know I don’t like it when you’re near the edge of the ship.”</p><p>Akaashi thanked the Heavens that Bokuto wasn’t getting mad at him. He also thanked his past self for greeting Bokuto instead of being stubborn and staying quiet, or else he probably would have experienced a whole new pain from something.</p><p>”Why?” Akaashi asked.</p><p>”Because you nearly fell off,” Bokuto answered.</p><p>Akaashi wanted to remind Bokuto that it was <em>his</em> fault that Akaashi fell, and now Akaashi had to pay the price with his freedom being limited even more. Now he wasn’t even allowed to go near the railings without fear of Bokuto seeing him and possibly getting mad?</p><p>When Akaashi thought about it though, he realized that even his father didn’t give him that much freedom when they were on their royal ship, heading to the Kingdom of Croria. Akaashi didn’t have cuffs on him at that time, but it felt like he did, with him only being allowed below deck.</p><p>Akaashi pushed that thought aside.</p><p>Bokuto’s yellow eyes flicked behind Akaashi, to where the other ship would be, before locking eyes with him again.</p><p>“Come.” Bokuto grabbed Akaashi’s forearm and began to pull him across the deck. Everyone was gone, having disappeared below to get ready for whatever was happening.</p><p>Bokuto stopped just in front of the door that led below deck. He let go of Akaashi’s arm and fished for something in his pocket. “I almost forgot,” he said, pulling out a silver key, “since you look so good in those cuffs.”</p><p>Akaashi didn’t have time to feel embarassed by Bokuto’s comment. He was so used to losing hope, with being on the ship for four days, but this time hope filled his chest as he sucked in a sharp breath.</p><p>Bokuto was going to take the cuffs off of him.</p><p>Bokuto hooked his index finger on the chain between the cuffs and gently pulled Akaashi closer to him. The chains jingled as Akaashi took a couple of steps closer to him. They were so close that Akaashi had to bend his elbows, his wrists and palms facing upwards.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart was racing as Bokuto unlocked the cuffs. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off his chest once Akaashi could no longer feel the coolness of them against his skin.</p><p>The skin around Akaashi’s wrists was red and raw. He tried to rub them softly to soothe them, but as soon as he made contact, a fiery pain erupted on his skin. Akaashi winced, pulling his hand away.</p><p>The door that led below deck opened, and Oikawa, a man with chocolate brown hair and eyes to match stood in the doorway. He wore a black silk button up and black pants. A sword hung at his hip, and when Akaashi looked up at Oikawa’s face, he realized that he was wearing a dangling green earring on his left ear.</p><p>”Oikawa,” Bokuto said.</p><p>Oikawa stood straight, his arms at his sides. “Captain.”</p><p>Akaashi felt fingers on his chin, his head being turned so he was forced to look up at Bokuto. Bokuto smirked down at him. “Go make my princess pretty for the trade.”</p><p>Embarassment bloomed in Akaashi’s chest, causing his face to grow hot. It was already humiliating that Bokuto said those things, but saying it in front of other people was even worse.</p><p>Akaashi pulled his chin away from Bokuto’s grip, taking a couple of small steps back. Akaashi glared daggers at him.</p><p>The smirk on Bokuto’s face grew bigger. “Put him in his Kingdom colours. Date Tech will like that.”</p><p>Bokuto turned around and walked off, leaving Akaashi alone with Oikawa.</p><p>”You heard him,” Oikawa said. “Let’s go.” He turned around, heading down the stairs. Akaashi followed him, the door closing shut behind him, and the only source of light become the lanterns hanging on the walls rather than the sunlight.</p><p>Akaashi has been down here before, and he had memorized where some of the rooms were. The first door led to the small kitchen, where the wooden dining table was. The second door led to where the crew slept—it was the biggest room he’s been in, besides Bokuto’s room.</p><p>Akaashi had never been in the third or fourth room down the hall.</p><p>”Am I the one being traded?” Akaashi asked, dreading the answer. He didn’t even know if he’d get an answer.</p><p>“Yes,” Oikawa answered curtly.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart dropped into his feet. He was being traded to <em>another</em> pirate crew?</p><p>Oikawa told Akaashi to stay at the door of the third room while he went into the fourth room. Oikawa re-emerged after a couple of seconds, with a silk purple shirt and black pants.</p><p>“What about my father?” Akaashi asked, as Oikawa handed him the pieces of clothing. “Is he being traded too?”</p><p>Oikawa eyed him before sighing. “Your dad isn’t on the ship. Captain Bokuto sent him back to his Kingdom.”</p><p>Akaashi blinked.</p><p>”But that’s not what’s important right now,” Oikawa said. “Date Tech’s almost here. Get changed quickly.”</p><p>Oikawa opened the door to the third room and practically shoved Akaashi into the room. The door slammed closed behind him, leaving him in the room with his thoughts.</p><p>Akaashi thought of not changing and staying in the room, so he wouldn’t have to be traded to the other pirate crew. But Akaashi knew it would happen either way, and he didn’t mind changing into some fresh clothes.</p><p>As Akaashi changed, his mind wandered. His father wasn’t on the ship with him. His father was back in the Kingdom of Hina, far away, where he couldn’t scruntinize every movement Akaashi made or every word Akaashi said.</p><p>Relief washed over him. Akaashi tried to convince himself the relief he felt was because his father was safe. Yeah. He was relieved because his father was safe.</p><p>It made Akaashi wonder, though, about why Bokuto kept him as a hostage rather than his father.</p><p>Akaashi’s relief was cut short when someone knocked on the door, reminding him of what was about to happen.</p><p>Oikawa poked his head in, his earring swinging on his ear. Once he saw that Akaashi was done getting dressed, he grabbed his forearm and led him back up onto the deck and into the warm sun.</p><p>When Akaashi looked out at the ocean, he realized the water was a much lighter blue. They were in much shallower water than they were the last couple of days.</p><p>The Date Tech ship was almost docked next to their own. Akaashi could see the people on the other ship running around and pulling on ropes, just like Bokuto’s own crew mates were doing. It seemed like they were trying to stop their boats side by side.</p><p>Oikawa left his side to go help out on deck.</p><p>A whistle came from Akaashi’s right.</p><p>Akaashi turned his head to find Bokuto, now wearing his signature black coat and tri-cornered hat. The only difference was that Bokuto now had a sword sheath at his hip, with a sword handle sticking out.</p><p>Bokuto ran his eyes along Akaashi’s frame. “You look amazing in your Kingdom colours, princess.”</p><p>Akaashi crossed his arms, trying his best to cover himself up from Bokuto’s gaze. He hated how Bokuto always tried to humiliate him.</p><p>“I won’t be having any of that,” Bokuto said, walking towards him.</p><p>Akaashi heard the jingling of metal, but it was already too late. He felt the cold, familiar metal against his left wrist. His skin started to sting, making Akaashi wince. Instead of feeling his arms being pulled in front of him, though, Akaashi felt both of his arms being pulled <em>behind</em> him before the other cuff clicked on his right wrist.</p><p>Bokuto’s breath tickled Akaashi’s ear from behind him. “Now you can’t hide yourself from me,” he whispered.</p><p>Akaashi swallowed thickly, dread settling in his stomach. Now he couldn’t defend himself from the other pirates, either.</p><p>Bokuto let go of him and walked out onto the deck to help the other crew members. Akaashi stayed still where he was, watching the other ship stop right next to Bokuto’s while his nerves went haywire.</p><p>A wide, wooden plank was placed in between the two ships, so they could pass from one boat to another. Bokuto’s crew were already walking across it, making it onto the deck of the other ship.</p><p>Akaashi didn’t move one inch—the fear he felt wouldn’t let him. Bokuto came over to him, grabbed his arm, and guided him across the deck and onto the plank.</p><p>Akaashi looked across at the other ship and completely tensed up once he realized the other pirate crew was watching him like a hawk.</p><p>“You’ve got the fucking <em>prince</em>?” a man with brown hair asked. He was wearing the same articles of clothing as Bokuto—a tri-cornered hat and long coat—but his clothes were teal and white, just like the flags of their ship that flapped in the wind.</p><p>Why was the pirate captain so surprised to see him? Wasn’t this all planned? Or was trading Akaashi a last minute decision Bokuto made after capturing him?</p><p>Akaashi shakily stepped down from the plank and onto the other deck. His nervousness had turned his legs into jelly. If Bokuto wasn’t holding him, his legs probably would have given out.</p><p>Bokuto hummed, moving so he was at the front of his pirate crew, dragging Akaashi with him. Both of the pirates were on opposite ends of the deck, quite far from each other. It seemed they were both weary and were keeping a safe distance away.</p><p>”Found him sailing on a very obvious royal ship,” Bokuto said. He grabbed Akaashi’s shoulders and applied enough pressure until Akaashi fell to the deck, his knees hitting the wood with a thud. Pain crawled up his legs, but he didn’t make a noise. “The Hina royals are too prideful for their own good.”</p><p>“What, did you bring him here so you can keep an eye on him just in case he decides to take a nose dive off the side of the ship?” the other captain asked, narrowing his eyes at Akaashi. “I’m surprised you don’t have a leash on him—you know Hina and their rule.”</p><p>It was then that Akaashi remembered the rule his father always told him about. In order for a royal to keep their dignity and pride if they’re ever caught by pirates, they were expected to jump off the ship and into the sea. Whether they swam to shore or died out in the ocean didn’t matter, as long as they were away from the pirates.</p><p>If a royal was captured by pirates and brought to their Kingdom to get ransom money, that royal will be ridiculed and quite possibly out-casted, especially if it was a Hina royal, given that their Kingdom preaches about being stronger than pirates. It would be a massive blow to the Kingdom of Hina’s image if a royal was brought back by pirates and the pirate got tons of ransom money for it.</p><p>Akaashi always thought the rule was stupid. He believed only crazy royals who had too much pride would do something like that. He knew his father would have done it, if he was in the same situation as Akaashi. But Akaashi would never do that—he valued his life more than he valued his father’s pride.</p><p>Bokuto chuckled. “This royal is a bit different,” Bokuto said, looking down at Akaashi with a smug smile. “But no, I didn’t bring him here to keep an eye on him. You see, instead of giving you all the goods I stole from royal ships, I decided to give you the prince instead, Futakuchi.”</p><p>“You’ll get way more money than you would selling all the goods and–” Bokuto placed his index finger under Akaashi’s chin and angled his head up to show his face “–you’ll forever be known as the pirate crew who captured the prince and ruined the Kingdom of Hina’s pride.”</p><p>Akaashi was right—he was just a last minute decision for Bokuto to get whatever he wanted. <em>Great</em>.</p><p>Futakuchi stared at Akaashi, his eyes practically burning holes into his head. Akaashi <em>hated</em> the way he was looking at him like a piece of meat.</p><p>”Deal,” Futakuchi said, a smirk crossing his face. It looked so much more sinister than Bokuto’s.</p><p>Bokuto stepped behind Akaashi, and he wasn’t able to see him anymore. All Akaashi could see was the other scary looking pirate crew looking back at him, licking their lips as if Akaashi was some sort of meal.</p><p>Akaashi’s whole body felt like it was being weighed down by dread the more his eyes passed over the pirate crew he was supposed to be traded to. He didn’t want to be traded to these people. Akaashi knew something terrible would happen to him if he did.</p><p>A taller man with blond hair and a dyed piece of black hair sticking up at the front started to walk across the deck, heading straight for Akaashi.</p><p>Akaashi angled his upper body backwards, as if that would put more distance between them. Before the pirate could reach him, something moved quickly in front of Akaashi’s face and glinted in his eyes.</p><p>The pirate stopped. There was a sword in front of Akaashi, angled across him, with the blade pointing towards the pirate. Bokuto would only have to swing upwards to cut off the pirates head.</p><p>”I wasn’t born yesterday,” Bokuto said roughly. “You’re not touching him until I have the map in my hands.”</p><p>Anger flared up in Akaahi’s chest. He was being traded for a <em>piece of paper</em>?</p><p>Futakuchi smirked. “Come on, Bo. That map leads to a treasure that’s worth a fortune, much more than I’d get in ransome money. I’m not giving it to you until I have the prince.”</p><p>”That treasure also comes with a curse,” Bokuto said. “The prince doesn’t come with any drawbacks, except for a fucking attitude.”</p><p>Akaashi glared at Bokuto’s words.</p><p>”So I think I should have the map first.”</p><p>”It’s not my problem that the treasure has a curse, is it?” Futakuchi asked. Other people from his crew began inching towards them, causing alarms to go off in Akaashi’s head.</p><p>Akaashi heard Bokuto huff before his head was yanked back forcefully, a gasp escaping his throat. Bokuto’s hands were in Akaashi’s hair, gripping onto it and keeping his head in place. Akaashi’s vision was limited to the underside of Bokuto’s chin. He sucked in a breath once the cold metal of a sword pressed against his neck.</p><p>“The fucking <em>map</em>, Futakuchi,” Bokuto growled.</p><p><em>Oh God</em>. Bokuto wasn’t going to kill him, right? He went through all that trouble to save Akaashi from falling off the side of the ship and even making sure Akaashi didn’t want to jump off just to slit his throat? For a <em>map</em>?</p><p>”Bo—” Akaashi started to say.</p><p>Bokuto pressed the sword harder against his neck, his name getting caught in Akaashi’s throat. He didn’t look down at Akaashi for even a second–he kept a glare fixated on Futakuchi.</p><p>”Okay,” Futakuchi said, panic in his voice. “Okay, you can have the map first.” Akaashi heard a snap. “Aone, go get it.”</p><p>The deck echoed with footsteps, and Akaashi heard the creak of a door opening before slamming shut.</p><p>Bokuto took the sword away from Akaashi’s neck, and Akaashi heaved a sigh of relief. He let go of his hair, allowing Akaashi to finally angle his head upright, so he could have a clear view of all the threats in front of him.</p><p>”You always were crazy,” Futakuchi hissed, crossing his arms and glaring at Bokuto. “I can’t believe you almost killed something you <em>chose</em> to give to me.”</p><p>Akaashi swallowed thickly. Did he just refer to him as a <em>something</em>?</p><p>”And for a treasure that’s going to kill you.”</p><p>Bokuto chuckled. “I’m a pirate. Nothing will bring me more happiness than having complete control over the ocean, even if it’s just for a couple of months.”</p><p>Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows. What were they talking about? He thought treasure’s simply had a lot of riches in them. He didn’t know they carried curses that could kill people who had posession of the treasure, and he <em>definitely</em>  didn’t know a treasure could give people complete control over the ocean.</p><p>The information Akaashi was receiving was not good. He was sure his father didn’t know about this either. What kind of other powerful things were going on with pirates that royals didn’t know about?</p><p>Aone appeared back on deck, a rolled piece of light brown paper in his hands. He walked over to Bokuto and handed him the map.</p><p>Bokuto pressed the pointed end of the sword against the side of Akaashi’s neck, where his jugular was. Akaashi froze, not even daring to move an inch. The smallest of cuts could be deadly to him.</p><p>”If you try something before I say you can have him, I <em>will</em> kill him,” Bokuto said. He handed the map to Kenma, his eyes never straying away from Aone, as if he was daring him to do something.</p><p>Aone wasn’t looking at Bokuto, though. His gaze was solely focused on Akaashi, who stared back up at him in fear.</p><p>There were a couple of beats of silence before Kenma spoke. “It’s real. And it’s all there.”</p><p>Anxiety swirled in Akaashi’s chest. He knew what was about to come.</p><p>Bokuto took the sword away from Akaashi’s neck, but he didn’t sheath it. Aone eyed the motion suspiciously, but when Akaashi shuffled back slightly, his scary eyes landed right back on him.</p><p>”Well, a trade’s a trade.” Bokuto looked down at Akaashi. Akaashi looked back, trying to give him a pleading look.</p><p>Akaashi would rather not be on either ship, but given the options, Akaashi would choose to be on Bokuto’s ship over Futakuchi’s any day. He could handle Bokuto’s humiliating comments, and he could dodge Bokuto being rough with him by not being rude. Futakuchi and his crew kept looking at Akaashi like he was some sort of prey, and he also refered to Akaashi as a <em>thing</em>. He had no idea what Futakuchi would do to him.</p><p>Bokuto took a couple of steps back, and Aone took it as an invitation to lunge at Akaashi.</p><p>Akaashi fell backwards, a terrified yell escaping his throat as he tried to scramble away from the man. It was inaffective, because Aone grabbed onto Akaashi’s calf and began to yank him across the deck.</p><p>Tears pricked at the corners of Akaashi’s eyes. His wrists were screaming at him from the friction, and he was sure his hands dragging across the deck would leave dozens of little splinters in his skin.</p><p>”No, no, no,” Akaashi kept repeating, shaking his head. He was so <em>scared</em>. Aone was already handling him rougher than Bokuto ever has, and Akaashi hadn’t even done anything to him. Akaashi didn’t want to think of what else these people would do.</p><p>Tears rolled down Akaashi’s cheeks. He was terrified, but he couldn’t even do anything about it. Even if he tried to fight, it would be useless.</p><p>Aone let go of his leg, and Akaashi looked up at Futakuchi through his tears. Futakuchi leaned over him, a evil smile stretching over his lips.</p><p>”You’re crying already?” he asked, laughing as if he just told some hilarous joke. “You royals are so pathetic.”</p><p>Futakuchi stretched out an arm, and Akaashi felt his fight or flight instincts kick in. He immeditely drew his leg back and kicked it out, aiming directly for Futkuchi’s face. His boot connected with something, and he heard someone cry out in pain.</p><p>Akaashi scrambled back, turning around on his stomach and pushing himself up into a standing position. He knew what he could do.</p><p>”Captain!” Akaashi shouted. His chains jingled as someone tried to grab at them. Akaashi jumped, starting to sprint across the deck towards Bokuto, who was still on the same ship.</p><p>Akaashi stopped in front of him, his chest heaving from running and from his heart racing in fear.</p><p>“Please—please don’t leave me here,” Akaashi huffed, tears still streaming down his face. He didn’t have time to feel humiliated at his words—he was in a life or death situation.</p><p>”You little fucking <em>brat</em>,” Futakuchi spat out.</p><p>Footsteps stomped against the deck, sounding just like Akaashi’s heart beating against his chest.</p><p>Akaashi went to spin around, but Bokuto grabbed his arm and pulled him behind him. Bokuto’s sword whizzed through the air as he swung it.</p><p>Something thudded onto the deck.</p><p>There were a couple of beats of silence.</p><p>Someone started to scream in pain.</p><p>Bokuto’s crew unseathed their swords and ran towards Futakuchi’s pirate crew, both of them starting to yell.</p><p>”Sorry, Futakuchi,” Bokuto said. “But you should know to never trust a pirate.”</p><p>Bokuto swiftly picked up Akaashi and carried him bridal style. Akaashi was too scared and numb to react at all.</p><p>He peaked over Bokuto’s shoulder to see the carnage, but Bokuto lifted his own shoulder up to block his view.</p><p>”Don’t look,” Bokuto whispered over all the yelling.</p><p>But it was too late. Akaashi already saw the hand that wasn’t attached to an arm laying in a pool of blood on the deck.</p><p>Akaashi’s whole body shook, his eyelashes and cheeks still damp from the tears. He tried to squeeze his eyes shut to rid them of all the tears, but as soon as he did, all he saw was the bloody, dismembered hand.</p><p>”It’s okay,” Bokuto said, trying to sound soothing. “I’ve got you. You’re okay.”</p><p>But Akaashi definitely didn’t feel okay.</p><p>He didn’t think he’d ever feel okay again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I loved reading all of your guys’ theories and comments in the last chapter! I can’t wait to read the other theories you might have (: </p><p>Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Cursed Treasures.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bokuto carried Akaashi towards the room with the desk in it. The whole time, the sound of clashing swords and yelling echoed in Akaashi’s ears, causing his head to pound.</p><p>He squeezed his eyes shut, mainly trying to concentrate on blocking out the clashing and yelling, but also to get rid of the last bit of tears in his eyes.</p><p>When Bokuto closed the door to his little office, the sounds of yelling and clashing were abruptly cut off. Akaashi’s head stopped pounding, but his hands were still shaking, and his heart was still hammering against his chest.</p><p>But it wasn’t out of fear anymore. No—it was out of anger.</p><p>Anger at Bokuto for threatening his life over a simple piece of paper that was supposedly going to kill him, anyway.</p><p>If Akaashi remembered correctly, it was <em>Bokuto</em> who told him that it wouldn’t benefit him if Akaashi died. He made it very clear that he wanted Akaashi alive and that he wasn’t a threat to his life at all.</p><p>That seemed to switch suddenly when an expensive treasure was involved.</p><p>”Put me down,” Akaashi said, voice echoing in the silent room. He really didn’t feel like struggling out of Bokuto’s grip and falling onto his back again, and he <em>really</em> didn’t feel like acting civil towards Bokuto.</p><p>Bokuto didn’t move or say anything. He acted as if Akaashi hadn’t said anything at all.</p><p>”Put me <em>down</em>,” Akaashi said, voice firm.</p><p>Akaashi braced himself to be thrown onto the floor, but Bokuto placed him down regularly, with no added force like Akaashi had expected.</p><p>Akaashi took a couple of steps backwards, away from Bokuto and towards the desk in the room. He kept an eye on Bokuto, who’s yellow eyes watched him intently, his face blank.</p><p>Akaashi stopped when the front of the desk hit the back of his thighs.</p><p>”All you pirates are the damn same,” Akaashi said, scowling slightly.</p><p>Bokuto crossed his arms, starting to take a couple of steps towards him. Akaashi immediately felt threatened, but he wasn’t done yet.</p><p>“Deciding on a whim to give me to another pirate crew just so you’re gauranteed a piece of <em>paper</em>,” Akaashi said sharply. “And then putting a <em>sword</em> to my throat when you wouldn’t get what you wanted—”</p><p>Bokuto grabbed Akaashi’s collar with one hand and pulled his upper body towards him. Bokuto stared down at him, a scowl etched onto his face.</p><p>”I’ve dealt with Date Tech before, princess,” Bokuto said, voice hard. “I needed the map, and I knew something bad might have happened if I didn’t have a one-up on them. It was a bluff, and Futakuchi fell for it. But it <em>wasn’t</em>—” Bokuto tightened his hand in Akaashi’s shirt “—because I’m a small-minded pirate who would do anything to get a treasure because it’s expensive.”</p><p>Akaashi blinked. Bokuto really wasn’t going to kill him if he didn’t get the map? He was just <em>bluffing</em>?</p><p>Akaashi tried to lean back, and Bokuto let go of his collar. Akaashi thought he was free, but Bokuto closed the gap between them, leaning down slightly to place his hands on either side of Akaashi’s body on the desk.</p><p>Bokuto’s face was hovering just slightly above Akaashi’s. He leaned in close, so close that their noses were almost touching, but Akaashi shrunk down as best he could. He’d much rather Bokuto thump his head against the deck than be this close to him.</p><p>”And for the record, I wasn’t going to leave you with them, either,” Bokuto said, his voice less rough and angry. “I was going to come back tonight and kill everyone while they were asleep, so there wouldn’t be a fight,” he explained. “It was better to keep you in the dark about all this, just in case you accidentally sabotaged my plan.”</p><p>Akaashi glared at him.</p><p>“What I didn’t plan for, though.” Bokuto’s voice was low as he brought a hand up to cup Akaashi’s neck and angle his head up slightly. “Was for someone as high as you to beg such a lowly pirate to come back on their ship.”</p><p>Humiliation burned in Akaashi’s chest as Bokuto’s hand left his neck and he stepped away.</p><p>Bokuto got it wrong—Akaashi never begged Bokuto to come back on his ship, he just begged him to not leave him on Date Tech’s ship. But one fact still stood—he begged a <em>pirate</em>.</p><p>Akaashi wanted to put his face in his hands, but the cuffs stopped him.</p><p>Akaashi was only doing it to save his life. But if his father somehow found out that he begged a pirate, Akaashi wouldn’t know what he would do. His father wouldn’t care if Akaashi was just trying to survive.</p><p>Because Akaashi was a royal, and his father probably thought, probably <em>hoped</em> that Akaashi took a nose dive off Bokuto’s ship the first chance he got. To keep his kingdom’s pride and honour.</p><p>But Akaashi was doing the exact opposite.</p><p>Bokuto left the room, leaving Akaashi to his thoughts.</p><p>Akaashi moved from his spot in front of the desk towards the chair, plopping down on it. It was uncomfortable for him to sit with his arms still cuffed behind his back, and the pain in his shoulders made him regret even speaking up at all. If he didn’t speak up, maybe Bokuto would have cuffed his arms in front of him again.</p><p>Akaashi sat in the chair for what felt like hours, his mind swirling with anxiety inducing thoughts about his father that never seemed to go away.</p><p>The fight didn’t seem to take long, because Akaashi only heard Bokuto yelling about placing certain things somewhere on the ship. Akaashi figured they were looting Date Tech’s ship, just like they looted Akaashi’s royal ship and all the other royal ships that sailed on the seas in the last couple of months.</p><p>The only thing Bokuto yelled about was the loot they were taking, so Akaashi figured no one from Bokuto’s crew got injured—or, at least no one got seriously injured.</p><p>When the door to the little office opened again, the sky was painted a dark blue. It wasn’t nightime just yet, but Akaashi figured it would be soon.</p><p>Hinata stood in the door way, one hand on the door handle and the other holding two glass bottles with some liquid in them.</p><p>Behind him, something glowed a dull orange, pulling at Akaashi’s curiosity.</p><p>”We always have a small bonfire after a successful fight,” Hinata said. “Do you want to join?”</p><p>Under any other circumstances, Akaashi would have said no. But the whole time he was left in the room by himself, when he wasn’t thinking of how disappointed his father would be with him, Akaashi was thinking about the cursed treasure Bokuto wanted.</p><p>Akaashi nodded and pushed himself out of the chair.</p><p>Hinata closed the office door behind Akaashi before they started to walk towards the stairs that led down to the deck.</p><p>Hinata stuck out his arm, offering Akaashi one of the glass bottles he was holding. Akaashi noticed the blue diamond of his promise ring glinting on Hinata’s finger—at least it made someone happy. “Want one?”</p><p>Akaashi eyed the glass bottle suspiciously, leaning over to look into the bottle and at the yellow, sparkling liquid.</p><p>”It’s beer,” Hinata said.</p><p>Akaashi leaned back as they started to descend the stairs. Akaashi had already done enough things that would disappoint his father to no end today, and he didn’t want to add any more things to that list. “No, thanks.”</p><p>Hinata shrugged, bringing his arm back towards him. “More for me.”</p><p>They finally made it down to the deck, and the small bonfire came into Akaashi’s view. The bonfire was simply just piles of wood stuffed into a metal bucket, probably so the whole deck didn’t catch on fire. Long and low wooden benches were placed around the fire. Kenma and Kuroo sat on one, Iwaizumi and Oikawa sat on another, Bokuto sat on one alone, and so did Kageyama.</p><p>Hinata sat next to Kageyama, and Kageyama immediately slung his arm around Hinata’s shoulders, pulling him closer to him.</p><p>Akaashi noticed that the benches were big enough for four people to sit on. Akaashi ignored Bokuto’s searing gaze and sat on the bench, right next to Hinata.</p><p>Bokuto sat on the bench to Akaashi’s right. Kageyama and Hinata sat closest to Bokuto, though, leaving Akaashi the tiniest bit relaxed—Bokuto couldn’t just lean over and grab him.</p><p>One thing Akaashi couldn’t avoid, though, was the feeling of Bokuto’s gaze on him. Akaashi tried his best to ignore it.</p><p>”So, what’s with the cursed treasure?” Akaashi asked Hinata, trying to keep his voice low. He wanted to get the information he wanted and then get out of there, because Bokuto’s gaze was making him sweat more than the heat of the fire.</p><p>“Have you heard of the Kraken?” Hinata whispered back, covering the side of his mouth so no one could see what he was saying.</p><p>Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head slightly.</p><p>Hinata leaned forward, seemingly excited to tell Akaashi the tale. “It’s—”</p><p>”The Kraken is a giant sea monster,” Bokuto said plainly.</p><p>Akaashi’s eyes drifted towards Bokuto—maybe him and Hinata weren’t being as quiet as he thought they were.</p><p>Bokuto sat as straight as a board, his arms crossed over his chest and a hard gaze fixed only on Akaashi.</p><p>A <em>sea monster</em>? Akaashi didn’t even know those things existed. He sincerely hoped that they didn’t, and that Bokuto and his crew just believed some silly scary story.</p><p>But he had to know if it was real. He had to do something to redeem himself after what he did on Date Tech’s ship. “A sea monster?” Akaashi echoed.</p><p>Bokuto hummed in agreement, the edge of his lips quirking up into a slight smirk. “But I won’t tell you anything else until you come sit next to me, princess.”</p><p>Akaashi’s need to redeem himself melted away at Bokuto’s words, but it was important information to know. If he ever went back to his Kingdom, he could warn his father about the kinds of powerful things pirates potentially had access to.</p><p>Akaashi’s whole body flushed in embarassment as he stiffly got up and made his way to sit beside Bokuto, everyone’s eyes on him.</p><p>He sat down on the bench, as far away from Bokuto as he could. Bokuto simply hooked his finger around the chain in his cuffs and slid Akaashi across the bench and into his side with ease.</p><p>Akaashi tried to squirm away from him.</p><p>“The Kraken is a massive squid, capable of taking down pirate ships in only a couple of minutes,” Bokuto explained. Akaashi stopped squirming to listen to the information, but he still leaned away from him as far as he could. “The treasure I’m after has an artifact that grants me full control of the Kraken.”</p><p>Akaashi felt his blood run cold. Full control of a giant squid that could take down ships? Akaashi didn’t even want to imagine the carnage Bokuto could cause to royal ships with the Kraken at his fingertips—if it was even real, that is.</p><p>”But,” Bokuto continued, “having that much power comes with a price. That’s where the curse comes in. In exchange for having full control of the Kraken, one of my crew members will become a mindless being and do anything to drown themselves every month. It’ll keep happening until I’m the only one left, and then it’ll happen to me.”</p><p>Akaashi widened his eyes slightly, looking around at everyone. They didn’t look sad or even angry at the information. They were okay with that happening to them, just because Bokuto wanted to rule the ocean for a couple months?</p><p>“And we can’t do anything to stop them from drowning themselves either,” Bokuto said. “Or else the Kraken will attack <em>us</em>.”</p><p>Akaashi was silent for a couple of seconds, taking all the information in.</p><p>”That sounds terrible,” Akaashi said. Even if it would give Bokuto and his crew power over the whole ocean, he didn’t think that was worth more than their lives. Pirates would really die a horrible death just to have power for a couple of months? “I thought there were only good things in treasures.”</p><p>“It <em>is</em> good,” Bokuto said. “For a pirate, that is. I would rather a treasure give me power than just some coins and jewels. That’s why I simply looted all your royal ships for all the goods that I wanted.”</p><p>Akaashi had figured Bokuto was the one who looted all the royal ships. Every single one of his crew, including Bokuto, had silk buttons ups. Silk was very expensive, and you wouldn’t catch a pirate wearing silk unless it was stolen. It was the same for Oikawa’s dangling earring—a pirate wouldn’t have something that expensive unless they stole it from someone else.</p><p>”But you’re going <em>die</em>,” Akaashi said, not being able to wrap his head around Bokuto’s logic. “Why would you guys fight for tha—”</p><p>”It wouldn’t have been a <em>fight</em>,” Oikawa hissed, “if you just stayed quiet like you always do and went with the Date Tech crew.”</p><p>Akaashi looked to his right, where Iwaizumi and Oikawa sat. It was then that he realized the white gauze wrapped around the entirety of Iwaizumi’s forearm, and the dangling earring Oikawa wore was now gone, replaced with a split earlobe—someone had probably yanked it off.</p><p>Fear shot through Akaashi at the pure venom in Oikawa’s voice. Without realizing it, Akaashi slid the tiniest bit closer to Bokuto.</p><p>Akaashi wasn’t usually the one to talk back to anyone, but he felt like he had to defend himself against Oikawa’s anger, because it definitely wasn’t his fault that he spoke up back on the Date Tech ship.</p><p>“If you guys would have told me the <em>plan</em>, then I wouldn’t have said anything,” Akaashi said, anger flaring in his chest. Why was Oikawa so mad at him, anyway?</p><p>”We didn’t tell you because you stay quiet all the fucking time anyway,” Oikawa seethed. Akaashi moved closer to Bokuto yet again, his back now flush with the man’s side. “What made you speak up this time and cause a fight? Were you going to miss all the attention Captain gives you?”</p><p>Akaashi’s face heated up, but it wasn’t from the fire. Anger and a bit of embarassment made his cheeks turn red, and he was thankful that the fire wouldn’t show it.</p><p>”<em>No</em>,” Akaashi stressed, scowling slightly. “I spoke up because I didn’t want to <em>die</em>.”</p><p>Oikawa chuckled in disbelief. “God, you really are a princess—so dramatic,” Oikawa said, the scowl returning on his face. “They weren’t going to kill you. They were going to take you back to your Kingdom. Isn’t that what you want?”</p><p>All the anger Akaashi felt immediately melted away at Oikawa’s words. He was right. Futakuchi never said he was going to kill Akaashi, but he did allude to the fact that he wanted to take Akaashi back to his Kingdom and get ransom money. So why did Akaashi get so scared and start fearing for his life?</p><p>”That’s enough, Oikawa.”</p><p>Akaashi felt Bokuto’s chest rumble as he said the words. With a start, Akaashi realized how close he had gotten to him, and he slid away from him.</p><p>Oikawa hung his head, fists still clenched, but he didn’t sit back sown.</p><p>The fire crackled on, filling the uncomfortable silence yet again.</p><p>”Well.” It was Kuroo who spoke. “This was great, but Kenma and I are gunna head to bed. Night guys, night Captain.”</p><p>Kuroo grabbed Kenma’s arm, and the two of them hurriedly made their way below deck.</p><p>”Us too,” Hinata said, before quickly pulling Kageyama off the bench and making a beeline towards the door that led below deck.</p><p>”Sorry, Captain,” Oikawa whispered. Iwaizumi stood up and grabbed Oikawa’s hand, and they also disappeared below deck just a couple of seconds later.</p><p>Now it was just Akaashi and Bokuto.</p><p>The fire was dying down, now. While there was still a faint orange glow in the bucket, the crackling had stopped. There was no noise to get rid of the tension swirling around in the air.</p><p>”You look uncomfortable,” Bokuto said, breaking the silence.</p><p>Akaashi thought he was talking about the small fight he and Oikawa just had. He turned his head, a scowl on his face, ready to just give Bokuto a piece of his mind. But his scowl faded away once he noticed Bokuto had a key in his hand as he slid next to him on the bench.</p><p>Akaashi sighed, and all the words that he was going to say went with it.</p><p>“You’ve got me wondering, princess,” Bokuto whispered. He unlocked one of the cuffs before turning Akaashi around, and Akaashi was forced to bring one leg over the bench while the other one hung over the other side.</p><p>Bokuto clicked the cuffs around his wrist again, but Akaashi was just thankful that his hands were in front of his body rather than behind.</p><p>Bokuto pulled on the chain between the cuffs—something that Akaashi now realized that Bokuto loved doing—and brought it over his head and hooked it around the back of his own neck.</p><p>“Wha—” Akaashi started.</p><p>Bokuto grabbed Akaashi’s thighs and brought them over his own, so Akaashi thighs were on either side of Bokuto’s body.</p><p>Alarm bells sounded off in Akaashi’s head, and he immediately tried to bring his cuffed wrists back over Bokuto’s head, but Bokuto placed a hand on the crook of Akaashi’s elbow while the other hand grabbed his waist, effectively keeping Akaashi in place.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart was beating rapidly against his chest. This was too close. It was <em>way</em> too close. This position was a lot different than when Bokuto caged him in at the railing or at the desk.</p><p>”Why is it,” Bokuto started, his voice still at a whisper, “that you thought going back to your Kingdom was risking your life?”</p><p>Akaashi’s whole body tensed at his words.</p><p>He didn’t think of it before, not until Oikawa pointed it out just minutes ago. But Akaashi knew why.</p><p>Akaashi averted his eyes. “I don’t know,” he whispered, voice wavering. He hoped Bokuto couldn’t tell that he was lying.</p><p>“Is that so?” Bokuto said lowly, ducking his head slightly so he would be in Akaashi’s field of vision.</p><p>Akaashi locked eyes with him, and Bokuto smirked, bringing his head up to normal height, their eyes still locked on each other’s.</p><p>Akaashi nodded at Bokuto’s question, because he didn’t trust his voice not to waver if he spoke.</p><p>Bokuto frowned softly, looking unsatisfied. He removed his hand from Akaashi’s waist and used it to lift Akaashi’s arms off of his shoulders.</p><p>Akaashi felt like he could finally breathe properly again, and he hurriedly moved his legs from either side of Bokuto’s body and slid down the bench. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs.</p><p>Bokuto got up. He made his way towards the metal bucket, where the fire had died down significantly, picked it up, and dumped the excess wood and ash over the railing and into the ocean.</p><p>Bokuto wandered back over to the benches and placed the bucket in the middle again.</p><p>When he stood up straight, he turned to Akaashi, a small smirk now gracing his lips. “Are you coming to bed, princess?”</p><p>Akaashi clenched his jaw. The way Bokuto worded it made it sound like they normally went to bed together all the time.</p><p>Instead of saying anything, Akaashi got up from the bench and made his way to the mast. He plopped down on the deck, legs crossed, and pressed his back up against the mast. He closed his eyes to really prove his point.</p><p>Bokuto chuckled, but it didn’t sound like the ones he would make at Akaashi’s expense. “You know I’m just going to bring you to my bed when you’re sleeping, right?”</p><p>So Akaashi was right. It <em>was</em> Bokuto who brought him to his bed everynight. But if that was the case, where did Bokuto sleep?</p><p>”I’m perfectly fine here,” Akaashi said curtly. He was feeling tired all of a sudden, and he really didn’t want to have a back and forth with Bokuto at the moment. He wanted to be left alone so he could fall asleep and forget about what a disappointment he was to his father for a couple of hours.</p><p>Bokuto’s footsteps echoed across the desk, and Akaashi peeked an eye open to make sure Bokuto wasn’t coming for him. Instead, Bokuto was making his way towards the stairs.</p><p>Akaashi relaxed the slightest bit, closing his eyes yet again. But as soon as the door to Bokuto’s Captain quarter’s clicked shut, all the bad thoughts and feelings that Akaashi was able to keep at bay during the bonfire creeped their way into his body and mind.</p><p>
  <em>Why was it that you thought going back to your Kingdom was risking your life?</em>
</p><p>Akaashi swallowed thickly at Bokuto’s words echoing in his head.</p><p>Now that he thought about it, there was a reason why Akaashi was so scared to go with Date Tech. There was a reason why he threw all of his pride away and begged Bokuto not to leave him with Futakuchi.</p><p>The reason was because Date Tech was going to take Akaashi back to his Kingdom—back to his father.</p><p>And Akaashi really had no idea what his father would do to him if he was the reason for their Kingdom’s downfall.</p><p>*</p><p>When Akaashi woke up the next morning, he wasn’t surprised to find that he was in Bokuto’s comfortable bed yet again. The silk sheets were pulled over him, covering just up to his neck, and the mattress dipped down slightly, practically hugging his body.</p><p>He was surprised, however, to find that when he turned onto his back, he didn’t hear the fimiliar jingling sound that usually happened whenever he moved.</p><p>Akaashi sat straight up, holding out his hands in front of him. The cuffs were gone, but instead of just his bare skin, white gauze was wrapped around both of his wrists.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart was racing, and so was his mind. Did Bokuto remove them? Did someone else remove them? <em>Why</em> did they take them off? </p><p>Akaashi practically jumped out of the bed. He slid his black boots on and ran out of the room. Bokuto’s office was also empty, and the large map of the seven kingdoms was gone, along with other papers that were usually on the desk.</p><p>Akaashi reached for the doorknob that led out onto the deck, but the door opened before he could even grab hold of it.</p><p>Bokuto walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He was decked out in his full pirate gear, which also struck Akaashi as odd. Surprise flashed over his features at the sight of Akaashi, but it was quickly replaced with a cocky smile.</p><p>Akaashi immediately noticed that Bokuto was carrying a silk, dark blue button up. He expected the cuffs to be in Bokuto’s other hand, since the last time he took the cuffs off of Akaashi’s wrists, it was only for him to change into another shirt—but the cuffs didn’t seem to be anywhere.</p><p>Akaashi looked up at Bokuto wearily, half-heartedly holding his hands up in front of him and backing away. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“What do you mean, princess?” Bokuto asked, the corner of his lip tilting up into a smirk. He took a couple of menancing steps towards Akaashi, his pirate hat casting shadows over his face.</p><p>”Why’d you bring me a new shirt?” Akaashi asked, eyes flickering from Bokuto’s face to the shirt in his hands.</p><p>”I have some business to take care of in the Kingdom of Osi,” Bokuto said, tilting his head to the side. “There’s no way I’m leaving you on my ship while we’re docked, so I’m taking you on land with me. And I can’t have you walking around in your Kingdom colors and cuffs around your wrists, now can I? That would be too obvious.”</p><p>Akaashi’s heart rate picked up at the mention of the Kingdom of Osi.</p><p>The Kingdom of Osi was the smallest of the seven Kingdoms. Although there was a King, Queen, and two princess’, the Osi royals never gained enough power to make a name for themselves.</p><p>The Kingdom of Osi was also the only Kingdom to have the poorer parts be completely taken over by pirates. The Osi royals and the royal gaurds had no authority in the poorer parts of the Kingdom. Since they were so small, and since they had no connections with other Kingdoms because they couldn’t provide anything useful, like goods or power, it didn’t take long for pirates to take over and make it their home.</p><p>And where there were pirates, there was a hatred for the Kingdom of Hina and the Hina royals.</p><p>If Akaashi stepped foot in that Kingdom, he’d be eaten alive.</p><p>He might even be eaten alive by the royals there as well, since his father decided not to help the Osi royals when they needed it most.</p><p>But Akaashi wasn’t the one who didn’t sent them help. If Akaashi could get to the castle, he could ask the King and Queen to help him secretly get back into his own Kingdom. If they helped him, maybe his father could help the Osi royals get their Kingdom back.</p><p>Akaashi had never been to the Kingdom of Osi, but he figured that there was no way the castle had been overtaken by pirates.</p><p>The more wealthy parts of the Kingdom of Osi couldn’t be that bad, could they?</p><p>Akaashi gingerly took the silk shirt from Bokuto’s hands.</p><p>”No objections?” Bokuto asked lowly, amusement clear in his voice. He brought his hand up to cup the back of Akaashi’s neck, pulling him towards his chest. His breath tickled Akaashi’s ear. “Don’t go getting any ideas, princess.”</p><p>Akaashi jumped out of his skin when he felt a brief, sharp pain on his earlobe.</p><p>Akaashi reeled back, hand flying up to his ear and his heart beating against his chest.</p><p>Bokuto chuckled softly, turning around and heading towards the door.</p><p>”I assure you they won’t work,” he said, before exiting the room.</p><p>*</p><p>Akaashi was at the front of the ship, staring out at the ocean, the wind blowing through his hair. The water was a dark blue, reflecting the almost night sky as the sun was only barely visible on the horizon.</p><p>He looked down at his free wrists, enjoying the absence of the cuffs. The dark blue button up he had put on had frilly sleeves, almost completely covering the white gauze that was wrapped around his wrists.</p><p>Akaashi leaned his hands against the railing, looking back up at the Kingdom again. He really didn’t care if Bokuto got mad at him for being near the railing—he was too busy going through his plan in his head.</p><p>Akaashi could see the small lights from the Kingdom of Osi, his heart starting to race from how close they were.</p><p>Bokuto’s crew was running around the deck. Kageyama and Iwaizumi were pulling some ropes, and Hinata was at the top of the mast unraveling a flag. Kuroo and Kenma were at the wheel, while Oikawa was no where to be seen.</p><p>Akaashi felt a prescence beside him.</p><p>“What’s your favourite pet name?” Bokuto asked, leaning his lower back against the railing and crossing his arms. He was still dressed in his black coat and tricornered hat. “I think people hearing me call you ‘princess’ might give your identity away.”</p><p>”Pardon me?”</p><p>Bokuto smiled cheekily, scooching closer to him. “Did you have a favourite endearing name for that ex-fiancée of yours?”</p><p>Akaashi didn’t need to think hard about the question. He’d only seen her a couple of times, and he didn’t have a pet name for her because he didn’t love her in a romantic way. To him, pet names were supposed to come about naturally, and there was nothing natural about him and his ex-fiancée’s relationship.</p><p>But Bokuto didn’t need to know that.</p><p>Akaashi looked at him up and down, an eyebrow raised. “Why do you care?”</p><p>”I need to know if there’s a pet name you like, so I can call you that instead,” Bokuto said, voice low.</p><p>“For what <em>reason</em>?” Akaashi asked, narrowing his eyes at him suspiciously. He hated it when Bokuto was so vague.</p><p>”As I said before, you’re not staying on this ship while we’re docked,” Bokuto started. “And if I say you’re apart of my crew, someone’s bound to pick a fight with you, ‘cause your so small.” Akaashi clenched his jaw at that—he wasn’t small. “So, I decided that you’re going to pose as my lover.”</p><p>Akaashi immediately took a couple of steps away from Bokuto, shaking his head in the process.</p><p>No. There was <em>no way</em> he was going to do that. Bokuto must be absolutely insane to think that Akaashi would willingly go along with something like that. Akaashi really would rather jump off the side of the ship with his cuffs on than do that.</p><p>And if Akaashi did go along with it, he’d have to stay with Bokuto nearly the entire time, which would leave him with no time to sneak away.</p><p>Bokuto reached out and grabbed Akaashi’s forearms, making sure that he didn’t grab the part of his arm with the gauze wrapped around it.</p><p>“It’s either that, or I tell everyone that you’re the prince, and I stand back and watch what they do to you,” Bokuto said, rather harshly.</p><p>Akaashi stayed silent, looking at the ground. He absolutely hated himself for not objecting again, but he really had no other choice. If he was killed by pirates, he didn’t want to imagine what his father would think or what would happen to his kingdom.</p><p>”That’s what I thought,” Bokuto said plainly.</p><p>Something was placed on Akaashi’s head. He reached up, feeling the wool felt of the tricornered hat that Bokuto always wore.</p><p>Akaashi looked up at him in confusion, the white feather falling in front of his face.</p><p>Bokuto’s two-toned grey hair was now down,  covering his forehead and eyebrows. It was the first time Akaashi had seen him with his hair down before.</p><p>”This will cover your face,” Bokuto said, straightening the feather so it was out of Akaashi’s face. “Don’t take it off.”</p><p>Bokuto pushed the front of the hat down, the material touching the tip of Akaashi’s eyebrows as the front corner dipped down and blocked his vision. When Akaashi looked straight ahead, the hat only allowed him to see from the middle of Bokuto’s abdomen to his feet.</p><p>“And please,” Bokuto said, voice incredibly soft. Akaashi’s chin was tilted up, and he locked eyes with Bokuto. The hat was a little loose on his head, and it started to slip slightly, so Akaashi shot a hand up to hold it against his head. “Don’t lose it.”</p><p>Akaashi was too shocked to answer. He’s never heard Bokuto talk so softly, so sincerely, before. Except maybe when Bokuto told him that he didn’t want Akaashi to die.</p><p>But Akaashi didn’t have time to dwell on the softness of Bokuto’s voice, because he was too busy focusing on his words.</p><p><em>Don’t lose it</em>. Does that mean Bokuto wasn’t going to be with him the whole time? He obviously wouldn’t leave him all by himself, but if he was placed under Kenma and Kuroo’s watch, or even Kageyama and Hinata’s, he was sure he could sneak away.</p><p>Akaashi felt the abscense of Bokuto’s hand on his chin, but it was quickly replaced with Bokuto placing both of his hands on Akaashi’s cheeks. Akaashi’s heart to started to race as his head was angled up more, and Bokuto ducked down so their noses were nearly touching.</p><p>”Maybe we should pratice being lovers before we get to the Kingdom,” Bokuto whispered lowly.</p><p>Fear shot through him, and Akaashi immediately ducked down, getting out of Bokuto’s grip before stumbling backwards. He still kept his hand on the pirate hat on his head, making sure it didn’t fall off.</p><p>Bokuto’s chuckle echoed in his ears. “I’m just kidding, princess.”</p><p>Akaashi sent a glare his way before fixing the hat on his head, so it sat just above his eyebrows.</p><p>“I wouldn’t do anything like that to you,” Bokuto said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Unless you wanted me to, of course.”</p><p>Akaashi clenched his fists. “I would <em>never</em>—”</p><p>”Captain!” someone shouted, cutting Akaashi off. “We’re almost there!”</p><p>Akaashi looked up at Hinata, who was beginning to roll the flags up to slow the ship down. Iwaizumi and Kageyama were still pulling some ropes, and Kuroo was now the only one at the wheel, eyebrows furrowed in comcentration.</p><p>Akaashi jumped in surprise at how close the Kingdom had gotten. Akaashi was able to see people walking around in the faint glow of the lanterns that lit up the buildings near the port.</p><p>The port of every Kingdom had wooden docks that stuck out of the stone edge of the Kingdom, with enough space inbetween them for ships to fit. The water near the ports wasn’t completely shallow—it was around 10 feet, so ships couldn’t get stuck.</p><p>The stone edge of the Kingdom was built high enough that waves couldn’t make it over and wash away the buildings that were closest to the ocean. It was also high enough that after people docked their ships, they could simply step off their ships and onto the wooden dock.</p><p>The ship slowly approached the dock. The waves affected the ship more, the ship rocking more forcefully now than in the open ocean. Kuroo was constantly turning the wheel this way and that, trying to line the boat up with the dock.</p><p>Akaashi held his breath as they neared it. The front of the ship lightly tapped the stone edge of the port, and Iwaizumi and Kageyama quickly jumped out to start tying the ropes to the dock, so the ship wouldn’t be carried away.</p><p>”Here we are,” Bokuto said, crossing his arms and smiling triumphantly. “The Kingdom of Osi.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for all your comments in the last chapter, they really make my day and I love reading them and all the theories you guys have!</p><p>Next chapter is going to be a wild ride, so buckle in ;) </p><p>Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Kingdom of Osi.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Night settled over the Kingdom of Osi like a blanket.</p><p>The sun had finally disappeared behind the horizon, making way for the stars to sparkle in the black, cloudless sky.</p><p>The only source of light came from the lanterns on the outside of some of the buildings near the pier, casting an orange glow over the dock and the stone paths that led between the buildings and throughout the Kingdom.</p><p>Uneasiness settled in Akaashi’s gut. In the Kingdom of Hina, royal guards stood almost every six feet from each other, watching over the people and keeping the peace within the slums of the Kingdom.</p><p>But looking out at the Kingdom of Osi, Akaashi couldn’t see one royal guard in-between the people walking along the stone paths.</p><p>Akaashi couldn’t see anyone who could actually help him.</p><p>”Captain!” Hinata exclaimed behind him. “Can Kageyama and I come on land? We didn’t get to come last time.”</p><p>”Sorry, Sho,” Bokuto said. “You’ll be watching the ship. I need people to keep their attention on the princess the whole time.”</p><p>Akaashi’s heart fell the slightest bit—having Kageyama and Hinata come on land with them would have been the most ideal situation. At least he still had Kuroo and Kenma, who seemed less intimidating than both Iwaizumi and Oikawa.</p><p>”Look at him,” Bokuto said. “He’s practically off the ship already.”</p><p>Akaashi realized Bokuto was talking about him. The back of his dark blue button up was pulled back, yanking him away from the railing at the front of the ship, making him realize just how close he was to the edge.</p><p>“What did I say about getting any ideas, princess?” Bokuto asked, hand cupping the back of Akaashi’s neck as he stood beside him.</p><p>“You better hope no one saw that pretty face of yours.” Bokuto tapped the front of his tricornered hat down to cover Akaashi’s face. “You’re lucky it’s night time.”</p><p>Akaashi completely forgot about not showing himself—he was way too focused on his plan crumbling before him at the lack of royal guards in the town and at the lack of Kageyama and Hinata going with them on land.</p><p>At least he had Kuroo and Kenma, Akaashi thought, as he watched Kuroo grab Kenma by the waist and lift him off the ship and onto the wooden dock. The lanterns cast an orange glow on their faces, illuminating their smiles.</p><p>Oikawa and Iwaizumi stepped off the ship and onto the wooden dock, too.</p><p>Bokuto stepped off the ship too, turning around and holding out a hand for Akaashi.</p><p>There was a bit of a space between the ship and the wooden dock. Akaashi stared straight down into the dark water lapping at the stone edge of the pier. The orange glow of the lanterns didn’t quite reach in between the space of the ship and the dock, making the water seem like a black hole that would suck anything up at a moments notice.</p><p>Akaashi swallowed thickly and reached out his hand, grabbing onto Bokuto’s outstretched one.</p><p>Bokuto smiled slightly, gently pulling Akaashi from the ship and onto the dock. Bokuto also took the opportunity to pull Akaashi into his side and sling an arm around his shoulders.</p><p>Akaashi tensed slightly, trying to lean away.</p><p>”You two keep the ship safe,” Bokuto called over his shoulder, referring to Kageyama and Hinata. “And <em>please</em> actually focus on watching the ship instead of focusing on <em>each other</em>.”</p><p>”Aye aye, Captain!” Kageyama called. When Akaashi looked back, Hinata had his face in his hands.</p><p>Everyone who got off the ship walked through the small town together.</p><p>Akaashi couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in the slums of his own Kingdom.</p><p>When he was younger, the royal nanny would take him into the market of the slums, because she would get better deals from there.</p><p>Akaashi always stayed close to her. He always wanted to talk to people in the market, but everyone would glare at him so hatefully that Akaashi held onto the royal nanny the entire time.</p><p>He wanted to stop going into the market after the first couple of times, but his father made the royal nanny take him whenever she went, because it made the royals look good. Sending Akaashi into the slums at least showed the civilians that the King acknowledged them.</p><p>His father finally stopped allowing him to go into the slums when he was sixteen. He couldn’t remember why his father stopped him from going into the slums, but he remembered his parents being worried about <em>something</em>.</p><p>Akaashi kept his head down, staring at the stone path they were walking on. His heart was hammering in his chest out of fear.</p><p>From looking out at the town, Akaashi couldn’t tell who was a pirate and who was a normal civilian, but neither a pirate nor civilian would be happy to see him.</p><p>The pirates would more than likely kill him, and the civilians would probably sell him out to the other pirates stalking around in the streets.</p><p>Since there were no royal guards around, it was in Akaashi’s best interest not to be seen. Not until he made it to the wealthier parts of the kingdom, or even to the castle.</p><p>Bokuto turned down a corner, leading Akaashi into the market. The town was busier here, with people chatting and bustling about.</p><p>Bokuto moved his arm from around Akaashi’s shoulders and instead settled his hand on Akaashi’s waist. He pulled Akaashi just the tiniest bit closer to him.</p><p>Akaashi knew that Bokuto wasn’t doing it to humiliate him, even though it still did. He was doing it to make sure Akaashi didn’t run off—which Akaashi would never try as long as Bokuto was around.</p><p>Akaashi tensed as people began to walk past him. He was paranoid that somehow, someone would recognize him. But as people walked past, no one seemed to pay him any mind, and he didn’t feel a single hateful glare aimed at the back of his head.</p><p>It felt weird, having people walk past him without paying him any mind. But it wasn’t a bad kind of weird. In fact, having people not spare him a second glance felt kind of... nice.</p><p>And it was nice not having people glare at him just for being a Prince.</p><p>Akaashi felt a small pull on his waist, and he halted in his tracks.</p><p>”Thank God,” Kuroo said. “I’m starving.”</p><p>Akaashi placed his hand on the top of the tricornered hat so it didn’t fall and tilted his head up to see where they were.</p><p>In front of him was a wooden door, illuminated only by a small lantern hung over it. A wooden sign hung over it too, and metal letters spelled out The Osi Bar.</p><p>They were at a bar. They were going <em>into</em> the bar. Where probably lots of pirates and other criminals frequented.</p><p>Kuroo, Kenma, Iwaizumi, and Oikawa opened the door and slipped inside. The smell of smoke and beer slipped through the open door and invaded Akaashi’s senses before the door closed.</p><p>Bokuto stepped towards the door, pulling Akaashi along with him. Akaashi relented, taking a couple of steps back.</p><p>Bokuto’s hand slipped from Akaashi’s back, but he grabbed his gauze-wrapped wrist before he could break contact with him.</p><p>”What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling Akaashi towards his chest.</p><p>Akaashi placed his hands against Bokuto’s chest, his heart racing. He did not want to go in there. Who <em>knows</em> what would happen if someone actually recognized him.</p><p>”Don’t worry.” A mischievous smile formed on Bokuto’s face. He grabbed the front of the tricornered hat and brought it over Akaashi’s face. “I’ll protect you,” he said, before opening the door and pulling Akaashi in the bar.</p><p>Chatter filled his ears, and that same smell of smoke, sweat, and beer filled his nostrils. To his right was the actual bar, with tons of drinks on shelves. The rest of the room had about thirty tables in it, filled with people who looked the way Akaashi <em>thought</em> pirates looked like—long beards, wrinkly, eye patches, and permanent scowls across their features.</p><p>Akaashi noticed another door that was across the bar, but it wasn’t lit up.</p><p>He finally ducked his head fully and stared at the floor, hoping no one had noticed him.</p><p>Bokuto pulled Akaashi into his side again and walked deeper into the bar, passing the tables with the scary looking men piled around them.</p><p>As they passed by, whistles were thrown Akaashi’s way, and people even greeted Bokuto and asked him how he was doing.</p><p>Akaashi clung to Bokuto, fisting his hands in his shirt. His heart was hammering against his chest at the thought of someone recognizing him.</p><p>But no one did.</p><p>They made it to their table with nothing going wrong.</p><p>The table was circular and wooden, with a bunch of wooden seats around it. There were two empty chairs closest to the wall, facing the bar. Bokuto had to shimmy in between their table and someone else’s to get to the empty chairs.</p><p>“As much as I like you holding onto me, you need to act a little more natural, princess,” Bokuto murmured in Akaashi’s ear, so no one would hear him. Not that anyone <em>could</em> hear him if he talked normally. Everyone was talking so loudly that Akaashi could barely hear himself think.</p><p>Bokuto pried Akaashi’s hands from his shirt, and it was then that he realized how tightly he was holding onto Bokuto. “People might start getting suspicious.”</p><p>Akaashi uncurled his hands from Bokuto’s silk shirt and stepped away from him, but Bokuto reached out, grasped Akaashi’s wrist, and pulled him into the seat as he sat down in the one beside him.</p><p>Bokuto immediately draped his hand over the back of Akaashi’s chair and pulled it closer to him.</p><p>Akaashi peeked up, trying to get a full view of the bar. There were a couple of tables to his left and right, and in front of their table was a small pathway before the wooden bar started and people sat on stools in front of it.</p><p>Akaashi sucked in a sharp breath when he noticed an Osi royal guard sitting at the bar.</p><p>Finally. Someone who could actually help him.</p><p>Akaashi leaned forward, his heart racing.</p><p>A sigh sounded from beside him.</p><p>”I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt,” Bokuto started.</p><p>Akaashi was plucked off of his wooden seat and was placed on someone’s lap.</p><p>“But it seems like I’m going to be your seat, since you nearly just ran towards that royal guard,” Bokuto finished.</p><p>Akaashi tensed. He moved his arms to push at Bokuto’s chest, but Bokuto caught both of his wrists with one hand and tugged Akaashi towards him, their noses nearly touching.</p><p>”Do lovers push each other away, angel?” Bokuto asked lowly, yellow eyes ablaze with mischief.</p><p>Akaaahi clenched his fists still captured in Bokuto’s hands. Bokuto’s nickname for him echoed around in his head mockingly—was he calling him that because he was supposed to be so high and mighty, even though he was at the mercy of a lowly pirate?</p><p>”And before you get tunnel vision,” Bokuto said, letting go of his wrists and using his index finger to softly push at Akaashi’s chin and make him face the direction of the bar. “Why don’t you take another look at the royal guard?”</p><p>Akaashi focused his gaze on the royal guard, his hope crumbling as realization hit him. He didn’t know why he didn’t realize it before—but why would a royal guard be hanging out in a place like this?</p><p>”They wouldn’t help you, angel,” Bokuto said, leaning back in his seat. He kept one hand gripping Akaashi’s waist—not harshly, but as a sign saying <em>stay here</em>.</p><p>Akaashi suspected Bokuto was lying. Why wouldn’t the royal guard help him? He was a Prince, <em>the</em> Prince of Hina. They <em>had</em> to help him.</p><p>”They probably had no other choice,” Bokuto said. “They became royal guards for a reason, but when the King of Hina didn’t help these people, they probably had to comply with the pirates who took over so they wouldn’t be killed.”</p><p>Akaashi swallowed thickly, pushing away the thoughts of how the royal guards must have felt. “But <em>I</em> didn’t do that.”</p><p>”Doesn’t matter,” Bokuto said quietly, shrugging his shoulders. “The King might have been the one to do it, but he was probably training you to be just like him when you become King, and people will try to stop it if they have the chance.”</p><p>Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows slightly. <em>When</em> he became King?</p><p>”I hate to break it to you, angel, but people who hate the King hate you, too,” Bokuto explained, quiet enough that only Akaashi could hear him.</p><p>It didn’t hurt him to know that people in the slums hated him. Ever since Akaashi went with the royal nanny into the poorer parts of the Kingdom, he knew he was hated. What hurt him was that he was hated just because he was the King’s son.</p><p>Akaashi turned his gaze towards Bokuto. Bokuto has made it clear that he doesn’t like his father, but...</p><p>”You don’t hate me, though,” Akaashi said, just quiet enough that only Bokuto could hear him. That much was obvious, but the fact that wasn’t so clear was <em>why</em>.</p><p>Bokuto locked eyes with him. “I don’t,” he said, “not at all.”</p><p>Akaashi sucked in a sharp breath at the sincerity of Bokuto’s words—it completely caught him off guard.</p><p>”So clearly, you’re the safest when you’re with me,” Bokuto said, pulling Akaashi closer to his chest.</p><p>”Am I?” Akaashi asked incredously. “If I don’t do what you say, you said you’d reveal who I am to everyone and watch as they beat me up.”</p><p>Bokuto chuckled. “I only said that to get you to agree to pose as my lover, angel. I woudn’t do anything like that to you.”</p><p>Akaashi clenched his jaw. Great. So every threat Bokuto has ever given him was just to get him to agree to something humiliating?</p><p>“So relax,” Bokuto said, bringing his hand up to push Akaashi’s shoulders down, because they were so tense that they were nearly to his ears. He brought his hand to the middle of Akaashi’s shoulder blades. “You’re always so tense.”</p><p>”You just told me everyone hated me,” Akaashi mumbled. Of course he’d be tense.</p><p>”Is that the real reason?” Bokuto asked, intense gaze locking with Akaashi’s.</p><p>Akaashi immediately looked away. It wasn’t the real reason, but how did Bokuto <em>know</em> that? He stayed silent, not wanting to answer, but his silence was answer enough.</p><p>Akaashi tensed again, being pulled from his thoughts as Bokuto began to run his finger down Akaashi’s back, along his spine.</p><p>“That’s what I—”</p><p>Bokuto stopped his finger in the middle of Akaashi’s back.</p><p>Akaashi stared down at his lap, heart beating against his chest.</p><p>He hasn’t really had time to think about them, much less worry about them. No one had been near his back, and when he’s changed into other shirts, he was the only one in the room.</p><p>But they weren’t just noticed with the eyes. The linear scars his father had given him on his back were raised and rough, standing out from the unharmed skin of his back.</p><p>Akaashi was absolutely certain Bokuto had felt the scars. And from the way he paused, Akaashi was certain Bokuto knew what he had felt.</p><p>Bokuto splayed his large hand on the small of Akaashi’s back.</p><p>“What—” Bokuto began.</p><p>“Bokuto?”</p><p>Bokuto turned his searing gaze away from Akaashi’s face.</p><p>Akaashi looked towards the sound, too, catching a glimpse of the person who just saved him from an awkward situation.</p><p>Akaashi then ducked his head down again, forgetting where he was for a split second.</p><p>The person standing in front of them was clearly a server. He held a beer in each hand, and was dressed entirely in black. He was thin, and had a small build. His hair, which was short, wavy and black, made his bright blue eyes stand out.</p><p>“Akiru,” Bokuto said curtly, in way of greeting.</p><p>An anxious knot immediately formed in Akaashi’s stomach at the sound of Bokuto’s voice. He was clearly upset and switched into one of his bad moods, and nothing good happened to Akaashi when Bokuto was in one of those moods.</p><p>”Who’s this?” Akiru asked, voice light. He clearly either didn’t notice Bokuto’s unpleasentness or he didn’t care about it.</p><p>”None of your concern,” Bokuto said, rather harshly.</p><p>”Aw, don’t be like that,” Akiru said cheerily, Bokuto’s mood clearly not getting to him in the slightest. “We haven’t seen each other in so long.”</p><p>Bokuto stayed silent, his jaw clenching.</p><p>”I see you’ve finally gotten over being protective of your little pirate hat,” Akiru said, laughing slightly. “You never even let me touch it, much less wear it.”</p><p>Akaashi jumped when Bokuto reached his hand out and a faint slap echoed in his ears.</p><p>“Nope. I’m still protective over it,” Bokuto said plainly, leaning back in his chair.</p><p>”Jeez, Bo. I’m just trying to have some fun,” Akiru said.</p><p>He didn’t really sound as offended as Akaashi thought he would be. Clearly they had some sort of past, and with the way Bokuto has been extremely handsy with Akaashi, he could tell what kind of relationship it was.</p><p>“What’s gotten you in one of your bad moods, Bo?”Akiru asked, talking to him like he was some child.</p><p>Akaashi would like to know the answer to that as well. Bokuto hasn’t been in a bad mood since they dealt with Date Tech. His mood only took a turn when he discovered the scars covering Akaashi’s back.</p><p>But <em>why</em>?</p><p>“Hey, waiter!” someone called, and Akiru mumbled something before walking away.</p><p>Akaashi immediately relaxed. It was quite awkward being in the middle of a fight when he was sitting on someone’s <em>lap</em>.</p><p>The door near the back of the bar swung open loudly, pulling Akaashi from his thoughts.</p><p>Out of instinct, Akaashi jumped and went to raise his head to see what the commotion was about.</p><p>He was stopped when Bokuto cupped the back of his neck and brought him closer to him, so Akaashi’s chin rested on his broad shoulder.</p><p>Akaashi stared at the wall in front of him, heart racing. He hoped no one noticed the quite out of the norm movement Bokuto just made.</p><p>Akaashi felt Bokuto nod against him.</p><p>Immediately, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor echoed in Akaashi’s ears.</p><p>“I’ll see you later, angel,” Bokuto murmered softly, before picking him up and placing him on the wooden floor of the bar.</p><p>Akaashi felt someone’s arm around his shoulders, and he craned his neck to see Kuroo.</p><p>Kuroo tapped the front of Akaashi’s hat so it covered his face yet again. He felt a tinge of annoyance flare in his chest. He wished people would stop doing that.</p><p>“I don’t feel like fending off pirates who notice you,” Kuroo explained. He turned to look at Bokuto. “Good luck, Cap.”</p><p>Bokuto only hummed, before getting out of his chair and disappearing out of Akaashi’s limited sight.</p><p>Akaashi tried to see into the room where Bokuto was going, but Kuroo turned him around and started to lead him out of the bar.</p><p>”Let’s go sightseeing, shall we?” he said, raising his eyebrows and smiling.</p><p>The stepped out of the bar and into the night. It was windy from the ocean breeze, but it wasn’t harsh. In fact, it cooled Akaashi’s heated cheeks from all the anxiety and embarassment he had felt while in the bar.</p><p>“So, what did you do to get Captain in such a bad mood?” Kuroo asked, leading Akaashi down the stone path, Iwaizumi trailing behind them.</p><p>Great. Akaashi was stuck with Iwaizumi and Kuroo as body guards. Iwaizumi was probably the strongest crew member, and Kuroo was just a little less intimidating than Iwaizmi. They were probably the worst possible combo he could have got.</p><p>“He’s been great since you begged him to take you back on his ship,” Kuroo said.</p><p>”Yeah,” Iwaizumi agreed. “I was sure Oikawa would have set him off yesterday, but he practically shrugged it off.”</p><p>Embarassment bloomed in Akaashi’s chest, and he shrugged Kuroo’s arm off of his shoulders. As soon as the presence of Kuroo’s arm was gone, he felt someone’s—Iwaizumi’s—grip on his forearm immediately after.</p><p>”I didn’t do anything,” Akaashi said. “And I didn’t beg him to take me back on his ship. I <em>asked</em> him to not leave me with Date Tech.”</p><p>“Well, not leaving you on Date Tech’s ship meant he had to take you back onto his ship, so—”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter,” Iwaizumi interjected, causing Akaashi to sigh in relief. “Let’s go to the market like we planned.”</p><p>Like they <em>planned</em>? Akaashi thought, furrowing his eyebrows.</p><p>Iwaizumi lightly tugged on Akaashi’s forearm, reminding him that he was holding onto it in the first place. Aside from Iwaizumi tugging on his arm to get him moving, Akaashi barely felt any pressure from it.</p><p>“Can you hold him a bit tighter?” Kuroo asked, eyeing Iwaizumi’s hand. “If we lose him, Captain’s going to <em>kill</em> us.”</p><p>”Why’d you even bring me on land, anyway?” Akaashi asked. He’d realized since being on the ship that Bokuto’s crew normally answered all the questions he had, unlike Bokuto, who left Akaashi with even more questions.</p><p>Kuroo shrugged. “Dunno. Captain wanted to bring you for some reason.”</p><p>Akaashi gaped slightly. “He didn’t tell you anything but you still went along with it?”</p><p>”Well, yeah. We all trust him,” Kuroo answered, like it was no big deal. “He’s helped all of us, and he’s never steered us wrong before. I understand why he’s doing all this, even if his methods are a little weird. He’s doing what’s best and I trust him.”</p><p>Akaashi looked to the ground. It was crazy to him how Bokuto’s crew trusted him so fully. When Akaashi tried to think of someone he trusted the most, his mind couldn’t conjure up an image of anyone.</p><p>“Why is he—” Akaashi started.</p><p>“We’re coming up to the market soon,” Kuroo said, cutting him off. “Stop holding him so gently, Iwa.”</p><p>“Look, I’m sure there’s no way he’d try and get away. It’d cause a commotion and make other pirates notice him. <em>Then</em> we’d be in trouble,” Iwaizumi said.</p><p>Akaashi narrowed his eyes at him. He was sure Iwaizumi was just saying that.</p><p>“And, I’m treating him nicely so if we somehow get caught, he’ll pardon me,” Iwaizumi said, a bit triumphantly. His words sent a shiver down Akaashi’s spine—<em>if</em> they got caught, not <em>when</em>.</p><p>“You can pardon people, right?” Iwaizumi asked him, a small tinge of hope in his voice.</p><p>Akaashi tilted his head to look at him. He definitely had the power to pardon people who were about to be hung, but that didn’t matter. His father could easily dismiss it if he wanted to, and he would definitely dismiss it if Akaashi tried to pardon a pirate.</p><p>But Akaashi didn’t have the heart to tell him that. “Yes, I can.”</p><p>He’s never officially pardoned someone before. But at the mention of pardoning, Akaashi had a flicker of a memory of him doing <em>something</em> at a hanging a long time ago—something that led his father to give him the scars on his back.</p><p>”I know he’s been a little rude, but could you pardon Oikawa too?” Iwaizumi asked, sounding super hopeful now.</p><p>Akaashi was pulled from his thoughts. “Okay,” he agreed, because he didn’t want to get into a fight by saying no.</p><p>”What the hell am I?” Kuroo asked, offended. “The barnacles on the side of the ship?”</p><p>Iwaizumi hummed in agreement.</p><p>“Hey, hey. I’m the First Mate,” Kuroo said. “Show me a little more respect.”</p><p>Iwaizumi lifted up his bandaged arm as well as his eyebrow. “Is getting a cut along my arm protecting you not enough?”</p><p>”Fair enough,” Kuroo concluded.</p><p>The chatter and bustling of the market reached Akaashi’s ears yet again. They were approaching it quickly, and Akaashi still didn’t have a clear plan on when he was going to sneak away from Iwaizumi and Kuroo.</p><p>If he even <em>could</em>.</p><p>They turned a corner, and the people and stalls of the market came into view.</p><p>They walked throughout the market, Iwaizumi still holding Akaashi’s forearm with the least amount of pressure he could apply.</p><p>Kuroo stopped at stalls, buying food and other goods and putting it in a small bag he had.</p><p><em>How were the people sustaining themselves?</em> Akaashi thought. The King and Queen were clearly in their castle, not doing anything, so how was money going around and how was new, fresh food getting to the market?</p><p>Throughout the market, Akaashi noticed small, unlit alleyways between the buildings that the market stalls were in front of.</p><p>It would be super easy to disappear down one, especially since Iwaizumi wasn’t holding him as tightly as he could.</p><p>He just needed the perfect opportunity to slip away.</p><p>Kuroo stopped at a stall next to one of the alleyways, with the alleyway being at Akaashi’s right. Iwaizumi even leaned over to get a look at the goods.</p><p>Akaashi noticed a large group of people coming down the market path to his left. If he pulled out of Iwaizumi’s light grip, he was sure Iwaizumi would think he disappeared into the crowed of people.</p><p>Now was his chance.</p><p>Akaashi took a deep breath, bracing himself, his heart beating like crazy. He stepped as far as he could from Iwaizumi without moving his arm.</p><p>The large group of people passed them, and with a sharp inhale, he ripped his hand out of Iwaizumi’s grip and took off towards the alleyway, quickly disappearing behind it.</p><p>”Kuroo!” he heard Iwaizumi exclaim.</p><p>Akaashi heard them run past the alleyway, not suspecting that he was down there at all.</p><p>Akaashi’s wrist was stinging. When he pulled his arm out of Iwaizumi’s grip, Iwaizumi’s fingers had pulled against his gauze, unwrapping it and scraping against Akaashi’s red and raw skin.</p><p>Akaashi wrapped the gauze around his wrist rather poorly before taking off down the alleyway and turning down a path that led in-between the buildings, heading right for the castle.</p><p>From what Akaashi saw, the castle wasn’t that far from the market. It would take him around 5 minutes to run to the castle from the market, when in his Kingdom, it would take him about 35 minutes.</p><p>He turned a corner, the main stone pathway of the Kingdom coming up. It was unlit and quiet, meaning that Akaashi had gotten far away from the bustling market.</p><p>Akaashi peeked out from the alleyway, looking both ways.</p><p>In the distance to his right, he could see the walls that separated the wealthier parts of the kingdom and the castle from the slums.</p><p>The walls had iron gates on the north, east, south, and west ends. Akaashi could see the south gate, unattended by any guards, which was probably for the best from what Bokuto told him.</p><p>Akaashi checked the stone path to make sure no one was around to see him before he took off towards the gate.</p><p>His heart was hammering in his chest, not just from the running, but from excitement, too. He had managed to escape from the pirates and was finally going to be able to go home and see his mom again.</p><p>He was finally going to be <em>free</em>.</p><p>Akaashi skidded to a stop, just in front of the iron gate. His breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling rapidly.</p><p>Would he be free?</p><p>He’d been so caught up in his plan to escape from Bokuto that he didn’t even think about what his life would be like when he went back to his Kingdom.</p><p>It would probably be worse than it was before. His father would be utterly disappointed that he didn’t follow the Hina rule, for a start. And he’d probably lock Akaashi in his room 24/7, not even letting Akaashi out to have meals with him and his mom because he’d be so ashamed of him.</p><p>He’d be free from the pirates, but he’d go right back to being a hostage in his own home.</p><p>He’d go right back to feeling like he’s drowning. For the rest of his life.</p><p>Akaashi looked back down the stone path, towards where the market was. The stone path led right down to the pier, and Akaashi could see Bokuto’s docked ship, rocking slightly with the waves.</p><p>Guilt immediately settled in Akaashi’s stomach, and he turned around, resting his forehead against the iron gate.</p><p>Akaashi shut his eyes and squeezed his hands into fists. <em>You’re a Hina royal</em>, he told himself repeatedly. Hina royals should be choosing death over staying with pirates for more than a couple minutes.</p><p>Akaashi bit his lip. Being at sea for so long was messing with his head. Obviously going back to his Kingdom, going back to his rightful place as Prince, was better than anything else.</p><p>Even if it costed him his freedom.</p><p>Akaashi pushed the gate open, stepping into the wealthier parts of the Kingdom and not looking over his shoulder, where he knew he’d see Bokuto’s ship looking back at him.</p><p>*</p><p>The wealthier parts of the Kingdom seemed deserted. There were no lights on in the houses, no one roaming the streets, and when Akaashi ran down the street where the wealthier market was, the stalls were empty and abandoned.</p><p>An uneasy feeling settled in Akaashi’s gut. Where <em>was</em> everybody?</p><p>When Akaashi finally approached the castle, which was much smaller and much more dilapitated than the one in the Kingdom of Hina, he stopped.</p><p>No royals guards were in front of the castle, and the large metal doors which led into the castle were cracked open the tiniest bit.</p><p>Akaashi’s stomach fell into his feet. He walked up to the metal door, placing his fingertips on it and pushing it open. It creaked loudly, echoing throughout the castle walls.</p><p>The only thing Akaashi heard was the wind whooshing past his ears. There was no talking, no movement, <em>nothing</em>.</p><p>”Hello?” Akaashi called out, still clinging to hope that someone who could help him was in this castle somewhere.</p><p>He stepped onto the aged carpet that led towards the throne room, a cloud of dust forming around his shoe.</p><p>He jogged towards the set of wooden doors, the ones that led into the throne room. This time, the doors were shut tight, and from under the door, he could see a faint, white light poking through.</p><p>The door was a little harder to move, and Akaashi had to push with his shoulder to get it open. He stumbled into the throne room, Bokuto’s hat slipping off his head and onto the wooden floor.</p><p>Akaashi decided not to put it back on. He would look odd wearing a pirate captain’s hat in front of other royals.</p><p>The light Akaashi had seen from under the door was just the moonlight. Parts of the stone ceiling of the throne room had crumbled away, and the moonlight shone through. It illuminated the four thrones, and also the silhouettes of people sitting <em>in them</em>.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart rate sped up as hope ran through his veins. The Osi royals were <em>here</em>.</p><p>”Hello!” Akaashi exclaimed, starting to walk towards the royals. “I’m Akaashi Keiji, the Prince of Hina. My royal ship was looted and I was taken hostage by pir—”</p><p>Akaashi’s words died in his throat as his breath hitched.</p><p>The silhouettes illuminated by the moonlight weren’t people. They were <em>skeletons</em>.</p><p>Akaashi brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes.</p><p>The skeletons were clearly the remains of the King, Queen, and the two Princess’. Two of the skeletons still had the expensive, velvet robes that King’s and Queen’s would usually wear, and the other two skeletons had silk dresses on.</p><p>The skeletons were slumped over, their jaws hanging open, and in each of their skulls were giant holes with cracks in the openings.</p><p>It looked like something had blasted through their heads.</p><p>What kind of weapon made that kind of wound? And what kind of weapon caused that much <em>damage</em>?</p><p>He knew the pirates who wandered the slums did this. They broke into the castle, used some sort of weapon he had no knowledge about, and killed them on their thrones.</p><p>He couldn’t imagine how scared the Osi royals must have been.</p><p>It suddenly made Akaashi wonder why pirates hated royals so strongly to do something so sinister. Yes, royals have been hanging pirates for many years, but it’s because pirates were committing treason against the Kingdoms.</p><p>But <em>why</em>?</p><p>He didn’t have time to wonder. He didn’t want to stay in the throne room any longer.</p><p>Akaashi turned back around, running towards the exit of the throne room. He made sure to grab Bokuto’s hat on the floor and place it back on his head before pushing open the wooden doors.</p><p>He pushed open the metal doors that led into the night, the breeze from the ocean cool against his skin.</p><p>He didn’t know what to do. He clearly couldn’t go back to his Kingdom, and he really didn’t want to go back to Bokuto. But staying here, with pirates who actually hated him and wanted him dead, going back to Bokuto seemed like his best and only option.</p><p>He breathed in deeply before taking off down the stone path, past the houses and the market, and finally stopping at the wall that separated the slums and the wealthier parts of the Kingdom.</p><p>Akaashi leaned against the wall, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Being locked in the castle since he was sixteen while only being able to fence was taking its toll.</p><p>”Hello there.”</p><p>Akaashi jumped, turning to his right where the voice had come from.</p><p>A man appeared from the shadows. He wore black trousers, a white button up, and a tricornered hat much like Akaashi’s, but the colours of it were white and purple. Bright red hair peeked out from under the hat and settled over his forehead, some strands falling in front of his red eyes.</p><p>”Are you lost, Your Highness?” he asked, a grin spreading across his face.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart dropped.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks so much for your comments on the last chapter, I love it when you guys comment. It really keeps me going! :)</p><p>Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! </p><p>Also, Akiru is an original male character. Idk if there was an anime character by that name, so I just wanted to clear it up :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Traitors and Oppressors.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Akaashi stared at the man in front of him, his heart beat hammering against his chest.</p><p>Straight ahead of him was the path that led to the market, but the redhead could easily intercept him if he tried to run.</p><p>Akaashi pulled Bokuto’s hat over his face slightly. He knew he spent a little bit of time with his face exposed, but the market lights barely reached to where they were standing. The man probably didn’t get a good look at him.</p><p>The tip of Bokuto’s hat only obsructed Akaashi’s view of the man’s face. He made sure he could still see from the man’s torso to his feet, just incase he pulled out a sword or any other weapon Akaashi may not know about.</p><p>“I think you have me confused with someone else,” Akaashi said, trying his hardest to stop his voice from shaking.</p><p>He took the smallest of steps back, towards the path that would lead him towards the east side of the Kingdom. He was sure he could find his way back to the market from there, where he hoped Kuroo and Iwaizumi still were.</p><p>“I thought I did, too,” the man said, taking a menancing step towards Akaashi.</p><p>There was still about ten steps in-between them, but Akaashi still tensed at the movement.</p><p>“I thought you were just one of Bokuto’s lover’s he picked up from another Kingdom, but then I thought ‘why would they be running towards the castle?’” the man explained, voice light. “And I knew you weren’t just anyone when I heard you say you were the Prince of Hina to those skeletons.”</p><p>Akaashi widened his eyes, his heart stuttering. Dammit. He should have checked if the Osi royals were even alive before exclaiming that he was the Prince.</p><p>The man took another step forward, and Akaashi’s thoughts flew from his head, his body getting ready to do two things: either fight or run.</p><p>And he knew he had no chance at doing one of those things.</p><p>Akaashi took a couple of hurried steps backwards, getting ready to turn around and run through the streets, hoping to make it to Kuroo and Iwaizumi.</p><p>Just before he was about to turn around, his back collided with something. It wasn’t hard enough to be a wall—</p><p>Akaashi’s breath hitched out of fear, and he turned around, stumbling away from the person.</p><p>The person didn’t look scary at all. Nothing like the redhead behind him. He was about Akaashi’s height, had an angled face but soft features, and had grey hair with a couple of darker streaks of grey near the tips.</p><p>Akaashi couldn’t tell from looking at them if him and the redhead were apart of the same crew, but he was sure they were. Why else would they both be strategically hiding, waiting to do whatever terrible thing it is they wanted to do to him?</p><p>“There’s no where to run,” the redhead said from behind him.</p><p>Akaashi turned to face the stone path that led down towards the market, so he could see the two pirates on either side of him.</p><p>He could make a break for it here, but if one of the pirates had a sword, which Akaashi was sure they did, one of them could easily reach out and cut him down before he even took five steps.</p><p>“I suggest you come with me now, without a fight,” the redhead said, crossing his arms. “But I’ve wanted to try out my new swords for a while, so if you want to run, you can go ahead.”</p><p>Akaashi’s heart hammered in his ears as he stared at the stone floor. It would just be easier to go with them, right? Maybe, just maybe, they were taking him to where Bokuto was.</p><p>And Akaashi knew he’d be safer with Bokuto.</p><p>“Hey!” someone shouted loudly. Thudding footsteps echoed off the building walls.</p><p>Akaashi looked up in alarm, only to see Kuroo and Iwaizumi headed straight for him, scowls on both of their faces.</p><p>Akaashi put his hands up in self-defense, tensing his body up and getting ready for one of them to tackle him to the ground.</p><p>He squeezed his eyes shut, ready for the pain to come.</p><p>Someone grabbed his forearms roughly.</p><p>Akaashi peeked open an eye, looking directly at Iwaizumi’s scowling face.</p><p>“What the hell—is your problem,” Iwaizumi said between breaths, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Were they running around the Kingdom looking for him the <em>whole</em> time Akaashi was gone?</p><p>“If Captain found you before us—he’d kill us <em>and</em> you,” Kuroo said, just as out of breath as Iwaizumi.</p><p>Akaashi knew it was a possibility ever since he slipped away, but he pushed the thoughts of what Bokuto would do to him if he found out he went to the castle out of his mind. Bokuto wouldn’t find out, because Kuroo and Iwaizumi found him.</p><p>And now, they could go back to the bar safely, because Iwaizumi and Kuroo would fight the other pirates and win—</p><p>The sound of clicking metal echoed in Akaashi’s ears. He felt both Kuroo and Iwaizumi tense up as something that wasn’t a sword was pressed to their heads.</p><p>Iwaizumi let go of Akaashi’s forearms, quickly pulling his shirt sleeve down to cover the bandages wrapped around his arms. He then slowly raised his hands up in surrender, Kuroo doing the same.</p><p>“Long time no see, Kuroo,” the redhead said, a gleeful smile on his face.</p><p>Kuroo’s face morphed into a frown. “Tendou,” he greeted.</p><p>*</p><p>Iwaizumi and Kuroo held each of Akaashi’s arms as they walked along the stone path next to the wall, heading towards the west side of the Kingdom.</p><p>Iwaizumi was on Akaashi’s left, and Kuroo was on his right. Tendou was behind Kuroo, holding his hand behind his back while pressing a metal, cylindrical thing against it.</p><p>The other pirate, who Akaashi had learned was Semi, stood behind Iwaizumi, doing the exact same thing that Tendou was doing.</p><p>Iwaizumi was clearly much stronger than Semi. It would be so easy for him to turn around, take out his sword and fight, but he wasn’t doing anything.</p><p>Iwaizumi and Kuroo both walked along the path, their backs as stiff as boards and their grip on Akaashi’s arms just a bit tighter than they needed to be.</p><p>Why weren’t they <em>doing</em> anything?</p><p>“Obviously you two know what these do,” Tendou said, breaking the silence.</p><p>Akaashi felt piercing eyes in the back of his skull.</p><p>“But does your little hostage know what these do?” Tendou asked.</p><p>Akaashi peeked over his shoulder to see Tendou with a sinister smile on his face, holding up the metal, cylindrical thing and showing it off to him.</p><p>Akaashi turned back around, staring at the floor. Of course he hasn’t seen that before. It was most likely the weapon that killed the Osi royals, so the pirates probably found the weapons when looting the castle and used them to kill the royals.</p><p>Which meant his father was keeping such weapons somewhere secret inside their castle as well, and had never bothered to tell Akaashi about them.</p><p>Tendou chuckled softly, but it sounded manic. “Don’t act all high and mighty, <em>Your Highness</em>. Of course you don’t know what these are.”</p><p>Akaashi felt a presence to the right of him, and hot breath fanned over his ear.</p><p>“Only pirates have these kinds of weapons.”</p><p>Akaashi would have stopped in his tracks if it weren’t for Kuroo and Iwaizumi pulling him along.</p><p>His blood ran cold and his heart dropped, seeming to fall into his feet.</p><p>Akaashi thought the pirates got that weapon from somewhere inside the castle when they raided it and took it over.</p><p>He didn’t know—he couldn’t even <em>imagine</em>—that pirates made a weapon that royals had no knowledge about.</p><p>The implications these weapons could have on other Kingdoms were devastating.</p><p>Kuroo and Iwaizumi halted in their tracks, causing Akaashi to stop, too.</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Akaashi could see both Kuroo and Iwaizumi looking up at something. Their grips got just the tiniest bit tighter on his arms, but it wasn’t enough to make him wince.</p><p>But Akaashi stayed staring at the floor, his mind conjuring up anxiety-inducing thoughts of pirates easily killing royals with the kind of weapons they had.</p><p>“You’ve only seen the aftermath of what these can do,” Tendou explained, and Akaashi knew he was referring to him.</p><p>The image of the dead Osi royals, their skeletonized jaws hanging open and the gaping holes in their skulls flashed in Akaashi’s mind.</p><p>He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to rid himself of the image, and trying not to think that that’s what he was going to look like if he didn’t manage to escape.</p><p>“So why don’t I demonstrate exactly how they work?” Tendou asked, excitement dripping from his voice.</p><p>The clicking of metal sounded behind Akaashi and to his right.</p><p>Next to him, Kuroo shifted away quickly. “Ten—!”</p><p>An ear-splitting loud bang echoed in Akaashi’s ears. He quickly brought his hands up to cover them, as if it would do any good. He tried to duck, but he only got about half way down to the ground, since Kuroo’s and Iwaizumi’s grip on his arms were now vice-like.</p><p>His breathing was ragged as he tried to get over the shock of what had just happened.</p><p>Both of his ears started to ring, his right one worse than the left. He tried to soothingly rub his right ear, as if that would make the ringing go away, but it only seemed to make it worse.</p><p>Staring at the ground in front of him, he noticed a shadow rocking slowly back and forth above him.</p><p>Akaashi placed his hand on the pirate hat on his head so it wouldn’t fall and shakily angled his head up to look at what was causing the moving shadow.</p><p>The gallows were in front of him.</p><p>It was a wooden structure built specifically for hanging pirates. It was built in the slums, so civilians could come and witness exactly what would happen if they tried to become pirates.</p><p>A body was hanging from the gallows, swinging back and forth slowly from the blast of the weapon that Tendou had shot.</p><p>Tendou had shot a dead person just to show how his weapon worked. He was absolutely <em>crazy</em>.</p><p>The body was almost completely skeletonized, and it had a fresh, gaping hole in it’s chest from where Tendou had shot at it.</p><p>Moonlight shown through the hole, illuminating the clothes that were on the body. They were tattered, worn, and dirty, and there wasn’t anything special about them.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart fell at the realization.</p><p>The person hanging was just a regular civilian.</p><p>“This guy was trying to save the Osi royals from being killed,” Tendou explained, voice full of disgust.</p><p>Akaashi’s left ear had stopped ringing and he could finally hear again, but Tendou sounded like he was talking to him from behind a pane of glass.</p><p>“Can you believe it?” Tendou asked, bewildered. “He was trying to save the people who have been oppressing people like us for years. How <em>disgusting</em>,” he hissed, causing Akaashi to flinch.</p><p>“So you’re killing our own people now?” Kuroo asked, turning his head as much as he could to look at Tendou.</p><p>“I became a pirate so I can stand up to the royals and help the people in the slums be free,” Tendou said, voice hard. “If they side with the royals, I’m going to be a little more than pissed. But, that won’t happen now, since this guy has set a perfect example of what happens if people try and go against us.”</p><p>Akaashi stared up at the body with wide eyes.</p><p>Tendou and his crew hung a regular civilian for simply trying to stop the royals from dying?</p><p>A shiver ran up Akaashi’s spine.</p><p>What the hell was going to happen to him?</p><p>“Next on the list is to speak to my Captain,” Tendou said, the unsettling excitement back in his voice. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees you.”</p><p>Akaashi didn’t move an inch. His mind was running a mile a minute, trying to figure out how to get out of this situation; trying to figure out how pirates could have access to such strong weapons; and trying <em>not</em> to imagine the carnage these pirates could cause to the Kingdom of Hina.</p><p>“Get a <em>move on</em>,” Tendou hissed, roughly poking the metal weapon into Akaashi’s back.</p><p>He could feel the metal scrape against one of the many scars on his back.</p><p>Akaashi winced, jolting forward to get away from the pain.</p><p>“That’s more like it!” Tendou exclaimed, laughing loudly.</p><p>Tendou placed the metal weapon at his back again, applying just enough pressure to keep Akaashi walking towards the West side of the Kingdom, Iwaizumi and Kuroo still at his sides.</p><p>“My captain would just <em>love</em> to have a chat with you,” Tendou gushed. “If it were up to me, though, I wouldn’t waste time on chit-chat and would have made you look like the Osi royals back at the castle as soon as I saw you.”</p><p>Akaashi’s blood ran cold at how non-chalant Tendou sounded when talking about <em>killing</em> him.</p><p>“That’s why he’s Captain and you’re not,” Semi stated, matter-of-factly.</p><p>“You guys didn’t take long on killing the Osi royals,” Kuroo said, looking up at the sky.</p><p>“Of course we didn’t.” This time, it was Semi who was talking. “We weren’t going waste our time waiting for you to show up, and we had everything we needed, so we just did it.”</p><p>“We could have taken over the Kingdom of Mali, too, but we’d need more guns for that, and Date Tech is a bit late on their shipment,” Tendou explained.</p><p>Akaashi, who was staring at the stone path throughout the whole conversation, furrowed his eyebrows.</p><p>He went to look up at Kuroo for information, but Kuroo gripped his arm with such ferocity that Akaashi stayed staring at the path, his eyes wide with realization.</p><p>That’s why Iwaizumi pulled his sleeve down to cover up his bandages.</p><p>They didn’t know that Bokuto killed Date Tech and looted their ship.</p><p>A tinge of hope bloomed in Akaashi’s chest. They had something over Tendou and his crew.</p><p>Maybe they <em>could</em> get out of this situation alive.</p><p>*</p><p>Tendou had stopped when they reached a small, wooden building that looked to be a small house, although it was only one-story.</p><p>The building was closest to the edge of the Kingdom, right next to the small fence stopping anyone from falling into the murky depths below.</p><p>They weren’t anywhere near the market, nor the bar.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart started to race. He thought they were being taken back to the bar, where Bokuto was, because Bokuto could definitely save them from this situation—</p><p>Semi told Iwaizumi to knock three times on the wooden door, to which he did.</p><p>After a couple of seconds, the door was opened by someone with dirty blond hair and slanted bangs.</p><p>As soon as the man moved aside to let them all in, Akaashi was shoved into the room.</p><p>He let out a gasp, stumbling from the force of the push. He shot out his hands to stop himself from face planting, his palms rubbing against the maroon carpet adorning the wooden floor.</p><p>Akaashi winced at the burning sensation in his hands.</p><p>He angled his head up to look around the room to get his barings and to see how many other crazy pirates were in the room.</p><p>The room was small, and lit by a couple of lanterns in each corner of the room. There was a thin, maroon carpet that started from the door and led towards a desk on the other side of the room. Behind that desk to the left was a wooden door.</p><p>The pirate who opened the door for them disappeared into the room behind the desk, leaving only three enemies in the room: Tendou, Semi, and a large man sitting at the desk.</p><p>Akaashi’s whole body relaxed the tiniest bit when his gaze landed on the familiar two-toned grey hair and bright yellow eyes.</p><p><em>Bokuto</em>.</p><p>Akaashi was a little too relieved to see Bokuto that he almost completely forgot about the predicament they were in.</p><p>He expected Bokuto to scowl, to <em>glare</em> at him with so much ferocity that it would make Akaashi regret even <em>thinking</em> of running away in the first place.</p><p>But a look of pure panic washed over Bokuto’s features instead, causing Akaashi’s worry and anxiety to come flooding back into his chest.</p><p>Bokuto’s look of panic immediately vanished when Tendou spoke.</p><p>“Look what I found, Ushijima,” Tendou said excitedly, walking over to the wooden desk on the other side of the room.</p><p>He placed his metal weapon down on the desk, using his free hands to grab the shoulders of the very large and <em>very</em> scary looking man who was sitting at the desk.</p><p>The man, Ushijima, had olive-colored hair and the same colored eyes. He was broad, probably broader than Bokuto, and looked to be a lot taller, too. His face was blank, and he looked like he hadn’t smiled a day in his life.</p><p>Ushijima also wore a jacket much like Bokuto’s, except the colors were white and purple. It exactly matched the tricornered hat on Tendou’s head.</p><p>“The Prince of Hina?” Ushijima asked, voice deep but full of surprise.</p><p>Ushijima stood up from his desk, Akaashi’s heart racing in fear at the sheer size of him.</p><p>Ushijima started to walk around his desk, his eyes burning a hole into Akaashi’s head.</p><p>Akaashi stumbled back, practically crawling backwards away from Ushijima until his back pressed up against someone’s shin.</p><p>Akaashi could already tell who’s shin it was.</p><p>Akaashi angled his head up, the top of the tricornered hat pressing against Bokuto’s knee, causing the white feather to fall in front of Akaashi’s face.</p><p>Bokuto stared down at him blankly, his arms crossed. An unsettling feeling sunk in Akaashi’s stomach at the sight of him. Bokuto always had <em>some</em> sort of emotion on his face.</p><p>“That’s right,” Bokuto said, uncrossing his arms and reaching down to brush the feather away from Akaashi’s face. “Found him sailing with his father on a very obvious royal ship, so I took the opportunity to snatch him up.”</p><p>Akaashi flushed at Bokuto’s searing gaze, angling his head down to look in front him.</p><p>He jumped when he realized how close Ushijima had gotten.</p><p>Ushjima stared down at Akaashi, and while his face was blank, Akaashi could still <em>feel</em> the hate Ushijima had for him radiating off of his body.</p><p>Akaashi brought his knees up to his chest just to try and put as much distance as he could between Ushijima and him.</p><p>“That’s where their pride gets them,” Ushijima said callously. His eyes flicked up to look at Bokuto’s face. “And the King?”</p><p>“Stabbed him and sent him back to his Kingdom so people could see how pathetic he really is,” Bokuto answered.</p><p>Ushijima chuckled darkly. “What a shame,” he said. “I would have liked to thank him for giving me the opportunity to make guns before killing him and his son together.”</p><p>Akaashi’s blood ran cold at Ushijima’s words. He obviously suspected that Tendou and everyone else apart of his crew would want to kill him, but hearing him say it, and so non-chalantly at that, made it all the more real.</p><p>Akaashi chastised himself. He should have just stayed with Iwaizumi and Kuroo. He should have just listened to Bokuto and not gotten any idea’s.</p><p>“You see, Akaashi,” Ushijima said, pulling him away from his thoughts. “Your father made the grave mistake of not questioning pirates before he hung them. There’s so much going on that you don’t know about simply because your father didn’t bother to ask.”</p><p>Ushijima walked back over to the desk and picked up the gun lying on it.</p><p>“Since no royals had any clue of what was going on, and they don’t bother exploring, it gave me the opportunity to create these,” he said, holding the gun up and admiring it. “It can kill up to three people at a time, and it only takes a couple of seconds to reload.”</p><p>Ushijima started to walk towards him slowly. “Not to mention they have leverage over swords, which I know all royal gaurds have.”</p><p>Akaashi pushed himself back against Bokuto’s leg, staring at Ushijima in fear. His mind screamed at him to run, but he knew the gun would be able to reach him from anywhere in the room, unlike a sword.</p><p>Akaashi expected Bokuto to do something, to <em>say</em> something, but he stayed quiet.</p><p>Was this his plan all along? Was Bokuto only protecting him from the Date Tech crew because he wanted to take him to Ushijima and have him killed?</p><p>Akaashi took a second to chastise himself for being so <em>stupid</em>. Why did he think Bokuto would protect him? He was a pirate, of course he had ulterior motives.</p><p>The clicking of metal echoed in Akaashi’s ears. When he snapped out of his thoughts, he was face to face with the front of the gun.</p><p>Akaashi squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head so his cheek rested against Bokuto’s knee.</p><p>God, if it wasn’t for his father he wouldn’t be here right now. If it wasn’t for his father being a ruthless and merciless king and killing pirates because he was scared of losing his power, this wouldn’t be happening.</p><p>“Now,” Ushijima said, “I can rid the world of another oppressor.”</p><p>A tear streamed down Akaashi’s cheek as he let out a shaky breath.</p><p>Why was he being punished for everything his <em>father</em> did wrong?</p><p>“Now hold on a minute.”</p><p>Akaashi’s eyes shot open when Bokuto’s words echoed in his ears. He couldn’t deny the relief that bloomed in his chest as soon as he heard Bokuto’s voice.</p><p>“Let’s not be hasty.”</p><p>Out of Akaashi’s peripheral vision, he saw Ushjima lower the gun, a look of confusion written across his features.</p><p>“The only thing I want to be is hasty. I want to get rid of all the oppressors as fast as I can.” Ushijima narrowed his eyes slightly. “Are you saying you don’t?”</p><p>“Of course not,” Bokuto said. “I know you’re crazy about killing royals, but I didn’t know you were so crazy that you’d let your fellow friends get caught in the line of fire. That bullet would have went through my damn leg, so let me get out of the way first.”</p><p>Despite saying that, Akaashi didn’t feel the slightest movement from Bokuto. He stayed exactly where he was.</p><p>“Also, don’t you think we should use him to our advantage?”</p><p>Akaashi’s heart dropped. He had no idea what Bokuto meant, but he didn’t like the sound of it at all.</p><p>Ushijima looked at Bokuto all the more suspiciously. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were stalling the prince’s death.”</p><p>“Of course not,” Bokuto said, causing Akaashi’s heart to sink even lower than before. “I’m just saying we should use him to open that treasure I know you have.”</p><p>Ushijima raised an eyebrow. “What if I already opened it?”</p><p>“Then by all means,” Bokuto said.</p><p>Akaashi felt Bokuto shift, causing him to panic. He couldn’t feel the presence of Bokuto’s leg against his back anymore. He reached behind him in a desperate attempt to pull Bokuto back, but he was already too far away.</p><p>He didn’t even know <em>why</em> he was reaching for him. Clearly Bokuto wanted him dead, too.</p><p>Ushijima clicked his tongue. “I guess you aren’t stalling, then.” He crossed his arms. “Satori, get my treasure.”</p><p>Without saying anything, Tendou practically skipped over to the door towards the back of the room and slipped inside.</p><p>There was a couple of seconds of silence and Ushijima staring daggers into Akaashi’s head before rustling and arguing came from behind the door.</p><p>Ushjima simply sighed. He aimed the gun at Akaashi, walked around the desk and towards the door.</p><p>Akaashi listened to see what Ushijima would say, but the familiar presence of a certain someone distracted him.</p><p>“I don’t want any blood on my hat, so I’ll be taking that back,” Bokuto said, rather loudly.</p><p>He leaned down, plucking his hat off of Akaashi’s head.</p><p>Bokuto used the hat to cover his face only for a second to whisper, “follow my lead, princess.”</p><p>Akaashi widened his eyes, looking up at Bokuto just to confirm that he heard him right.</p><p>Bokuto tilted his hat down to slightly cover his eyes before giving Akaashi a quick wink.</p><p>Relief flooded in Akaashi’s chest. Bokuto didn’t want him to die after all. He wasn’t going to let Ushijima kill him like he thought. And not only that—he was letting Akaashi in on his plan.</p><p>Akaashi jumped when something thudded loudly in front of him. He turned his head to see a large, wooden treasure chest nearly bigger than him sitting in front of him.</p><p>Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows slightly when he realized that there was no keyhole on the chest. It wasn’t locked—anyone could have opened it.</p><p>So why was he the one doing it?</p><p>When he raised his eyes slightly to look at Ushijima, he was met with the barrel of a gun instead.</p><p>“Open it,” Ushijima commanded.</p><p>Akaashi swallowed thickly.</p><p>“You don’t have to keep commanding him around while pointing a gun at him like that,” Bokuto said, a hint of anger in his tone.</p><p>Akaashi felt a hand on his head, causing him to look up.</p><p>“You already listen to me quite well, don’t you?” Bokuto asked, a smirk forming on his face.</p><p>Akaashi clenched his hands into fists, embarassment burning in his chest. Was this really apart of Bokuto’s plan, or was this just payback for not listening to him?</p><p>Akaashi swallowed his pride and nodded his head stiffly.</p><p>Bokuto’s smirk turned into a full smile. “That’s my good little royal.”</p><p>Akaashi’s cheeks flushed from embarassment. That nickname was worse than any of the others Bokuto had given him.</p><p>“Now, you can stop pointing the gun at him, and he can open the treasure,” Bokuto said, voice rough.</p><p>Ushijima glared at him for a couple of seconds before lowering his arm down to his side.</p><p>Akaashi relaxed the slightest bit, putting his hands on the lid of the treasure chest. Not having a gun pointed at him made him a lot less on edge.</p><p>Akaashi pushed the lid of the treasure chest open. He thought it would have been heavy, but it didn’t require much force at all. Why did none of the pirates open it?</p><p>“What the hell?” Ushijima said angrily, startling Akaashi and causing him to flinch.</p><p>The fimiliar sound of a sword being unseathed echoed in Akaashi’s ears, and when he looked up, the blade of a sword was pointed directly at Ushijima’s throat.</p><p>It was so close that when Ushijima swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple pressed against the blade, causing the skin to break. A small stream of blood started to trickle down his neck.</p><p>“C’mere, princess,” Bokuto said, voice frighteningly calm for someone aiming a sword at someone’s throat.</p><p>Akaashi quickly got up and went to stand right behind Bokuto. He could only just see above Bokuto’s broad shoulder, so he had to stand on his tiptoes to get a better view of Ushijima and Tendou.</p><p>“If you move your arm in the slightest, my sword’s going through your neck,” Bokuto said maliciously. “Same goes to the redhead. If you move, it won’t even take me two seconds to slit your throat.”</p><p>Tendou scowled, moving his hand from the handle of his sword and instead raising both of them in surrender.</p><p>“Look at that,” Bokuto said, amusement in his tone. “You act so high and mighty with your guns, but I managed to beat you with a sword.”</p><p>“I’m still a better pirate than you’ll ever be,” Ushijima hissed, scowling slightly. “I would have never imaged that you would protect the enemy.”</p><p>“Well, I’m full of surprises,” Bokuto said, tilting his head. “In fact, I’ve got another one for you. I killed all of Date Tech and took that crate of guns I’m assuming were for you.”</p><p>Ushijima clenched his fists, his scowl becoming impossibly more scarier. Veins started to appear on his forehead out of pure anger.</p><p>Akaashi gripped the back of Bokuto’s shirt, his heart hammering in his chest.</p><p>Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to agitate Ushijima any further. Him and his whole crew were crazy, and Akaashi wouldn’t be surprised if Ushijima raised his gun to shoot even with a sword pressed against his neck.</p><p>“Akaashi!” Kuroo exclaimed.</p><p>From behind him, Akaashi heard the now familiar sound of clicking metal.</p><p>Without a second thought, he immediately ducked down and covered his head. An ear-splitting loud bang echoed in his ears not even a moment later.</p><p>Since Akaashi covered his head and ears, the gun shot didn’t effect him as much as it did last time. He was able to hear fine, without any annoying ringing.</p><p>The sound of metal clinging on wood filled the room.</p><p>Akaashi looked up, heart falling at the sight.</p><p>Bokuto’s sword had been flung away from him, and it now rested against the wooden floor, out of his reach.</p><p>Tendou had taken the gun from Ushijima and was now aiming it directly at Bokuto, a twisted smile on his face. He motioned the gun towards the floor slightly before returning it to aim at Bokuto’s head.</p><p>Bokuto raised his hands in surrender and slowly got down, his knees pressed against the maroon carpet.</p><p>Ushijima, who had his arms crossed against his chest, flicked his eyes to look at Akaashi. “Step aside.”</p><p>The anger in his eyes alone was enough to make Akaashi crawl backwards away from Bokuto. He stopped when he was no longer on the carpet but on the wooden floor, right next to where Bokuto’s discarded sword was.</p><p>Now that Akaashi could see the whole room, he saw the situation that Kuroo and Iwaizumi were in.</p><p>In the right corner, closest to the door where they entered, Semi had his sword against both Iwaizumi and Kuroo’s necks. The gun in his hand was aimed directly at where Akaashi was previously standing, the barrel smoking slightly.</p><p>It was a good thing Akaashi ducked. In the wooden wall behind him, there was a large hole where the bullet had broken through.</p><p>He shivered slightly. The bullet would have created a large hole like that in his body if he moved not even a second later.</p><p>Semi reached into a small bag at his hip and pulled out a small, black ball. With one hand, he opened the back of the gun and placed the black ball inside before closing it.</p><p>Once he was done, he took the sword away from Kuroo and Iwaizumi’s necks, stepped back slightly, and returned to aiming the gun at both of them.</p><p>“Even if you’re a traitor and resorted to protecting the enemy, I’m still going to give you a proper pirate’s death,” Ushijima said, unsheathing his sword. It glinted in the soft orange light of the room. “I only use guns against evil royals.”</p><p>Akaashi could barely hear Ushijima over his heart hammering in his chest.</p><p>He was going to kill Bokuto.</p><p>No, no, no, no. That couldn’t happen. If Bokuto died, then Akaashi surely would, too.</p><p>Kuroo and Iwaizumi were only protecting him because Bokuto told them to, so if Bokuto was killed, they would obviously try to escape without Akaashi.</p><p>But Bokuto was the only person who protected Akaashi just because it seemed like he <em>wanted</em> to.</p><p>But—that didn’t matter. What mattered was Akaashi’s survival, and if he wanted to survive, then he had to stop Bokuto from being killed.</p><p>But <em>how</em>?</p><p>“How nice of you,” Bokuto said, a smirk on his face.</p><p>“I wouldn’t be so smug,” Ushijima said. “I wonder what your father would think if he knew you were protecting the enemy. You’ve ruined his legacy.”</p><p>Bokuto’s smirk faltered in the slightest.</p><p>“Arms behind your back,” Ushijima commanded, a triumphant smile appearing on his voice when Bokuto did so.</p><p>“And it doesn’t matter if you took those guns,” Ushijima said. “I have Inarizaki making more for me as we speak.”</p><p>Bokuto widened his eyes slightly.</p><p>Tendou began to laugh, one arm wrapping around his stomach. “You really thought you did something, didn’t you?”</p><p>Akaashi stared at Tendou’s arm that had wrapped around his own abdomen.</p><p>He didn’t know why he hadn’t realized it sooner, but the only thing on Tendou’s belt were two sword sheaths on either side of his body. He didn’t have the same bag Semi had that carried the things used to reload the guns.</p><p>Ushijima didn’t have one either.</p><p>And Tendou had already fired the gun back at the gallows.</p><p>Akaashi widened his eyes at the realization.</p><p>Tendou’s gun wasn’t loaded.</p><p>With his heart racing, he grabbed the handle of Bokuto’s discarded sword behind him, making sure the blade didn’t scrape against the wood and make any noise.</p><p>Could Akaashi even beat Ushijima? He had a bit of fencing skills, but he wasn’t even half as strong as him. And clearly, Ushijima didn’t think much of him, since he didn’t make a pirate watch over him like he did for Kuroo and Iwaizumi.</p><p>Ushijima obviously didn’t expect Akaashi to do anything. It would probably catch him by surprise if Akaashi moved quickly, let alone if he started swinging a sword at him.</p><p>So all he had to do was catch him off guard.</p><p>“Enough stalling,” Ushjima said, raising the sword above his own head. “I don’t want to be in the prescence of a traitor any longer.”</p><p>Ushijima began to swing the sword down.</p><p>Akaashi shot up, holding the sword with two hands and swinging it over his head. He only had to take three steps to be in Ushijima’s vicinity.</p><p>He swung down with all his might, the sword in his hands clashing against Ushijima’s own and creating a hair-raising sound of metal scraping against metal.</p><p>Ushjima’s sword thudded onto the carpet.</p><p>Akaashi stood in front of Bokuto, aiming the blade of the sword at Ushijima’s chest. He was holding the handle of the sword so tight that his knuckles were turning white, and the sword shook in time with his shaking hands.</p><p>Ushijima’s look of surprise was replaced with a glare after he had realized what happened.</p><p>Tendou looked just as shocked as Ushijima, but it quickly morphed into a scowl. He aimed the gun at Akaashi and pressed the trigger.</p><p>Although Akaashi knew it was empty, he still flinched slightly.</p><p>The only sound that echoed throughout the quiet room was the hollow sound of clicking metal.</p><p>Tendou’s face fell.</p><p>Akaashi locked eyes with him. “You forgot to reload,” he said, voice shaking slightly.</p><p>Semi appeared in Akaashi’s peripheral, arms raised in surrender. Kuroo lead him backwards, gun in hand and aimed at him, until Semi stood right next to Tendou, arms still raised in surrender and a hateful glare aimed at Akaashi.</p><p>It seemed Kuroo took advantage of the commotion and managed to take the gun from him.</p><p>A warmth spread over Akaashi’s hands.</p><p>Bokuto’s hand covered Akaashi’s own. Akaashi’s hands immediately stopped shaking from the stability Bokuto’s hands provided, and so did the sword.</p><p>“I’ve got it from here,” Bokuto murmered in his ear.</p><p>Akaashi kept his eyes on Ushijima and Tendou as he let go of the sword and stepped away.</p><p>His heartbeat was still pounding against his chest, but it wasn’t from fear anymore. The adrenaline rushing through his veins was the cause of his shallow breathing and racing heart.</p><p>“Looks like I’ve beat you <em>again</em>,” Bokuto said, the widest smile on his face. He tilted his head towards Tendou. “<em>You</em> really thought you were doing something there, didn’t you?”</p><p>Tendou scowled, glaring at him with the same amount of hate he looked at Akaashi with.</p><p>“Now what should I—”</p><p>“Goshiki!” Ushijima exclaimed, cutting Bokuto off.</p><p>Almost immediately, thudding footsteps started to echo behind the door at the back of the room. And it wasn’t just a single pair of footsteps. It was <em>multiple</em> pairs.</p><p>“Oh shit,” Kuroo said.</p><p>“Let’s go!” Bokuto sheathed his sword, quickly grabbing Akaashi’s forearm and running towards the exit with Kuroo and Iwaizumi right behind them.</p><p>They burst through the door and stepped into the night.</p><p>Bokuto tugged Akaashi to the left, heading towards the middle of the Kingdom.</p><p>Kuroo stayed back just for a couple of seconds to blindly shoot into the small building before him and Iwaizumi were running just behind Bokuto and Akaashi.</p><p>Akaashi could hear yelling and shouting from behind him, but he didn’t look back. He kept running, just the tiniest bit slower than Bokuto, who kept his grip tight on Akaashi’s forearm, just above where the bandages were wrapped around his wrists.</p><p>They ran past the wall and towards the lights of the market, the faint sound of thudding footsteps and shouting being the only indication that they were still being chased.</p><p>Just before they turned the corner that led down to the market and pier, Bokuto took off his pirate’s hat and placed it on Akaashi’s head again.</p><p>It was probably to cover his face again, even though he was sure no one would be able to recognize him because of how fast he was running.</p><p>Akaashi brought his hand up to place it on the hat to make sure it didn’t fly off.</p><p>They all turned right, heading down the stone path that led down to the market. The chatter and bustling of the market started to grow louder.</p><p>“This is going to draw so much attention!” Kuroo exclaimed, gun still in his hand. He couldn’t fire it anymore, but Akaashi assumed he was keeping it so Ushijima or someone from his crew couldn’t get ahold of it.</p><p>“They’re not gunna shoot if we run through a crowded place!” Bokuto shouted back.</p><p>They ran throughout the market, Ushijima and his crew still hot on their tail. Bystanders either yelled in surprise or quickly ducked out of the way, while others simply watched in alarm or confusion.</p><p>Akaashi had never done something so reckless in his life.</p><p>Running through a crowd of people with no chance of being recognized or judged had his blood coursing through his veins, and everytime his heart hammered against his chest he could feel it throughout his whole body.</p><p>His heavy breathing, his racing heart, the wind rushing past his ears...</p><p>It wasn’t anything like sitting inside his room in the castle, doing anything to pass the day.</p><p>Right now, he actually felt <em>alive</em>.</p><p>They were past the market now, running down the stone path that led towards the pier.</p><p>It was then that Akaashi realized another pirate ship docked at the pier. It was clearly Ushijima’s, with the white and purple flags flapping in the wind.</p><p>It was large, but Bokuto’s ship was just a tad bigger, and Bokuto’s looked much scarier with the painted black wood it was made out of.</p><p>Four people were already on Bokuto’s ship, and it was clearly Kageyama, Hinata, Kenma, and Oikawa.</p><p>“Get it moving!” Bokuto shouted, his voice being carried by the wind.</p><p>After a couple of seconds, all four of them sprung into action. Pulling on ropes, turning the flags so the wind would catch them and back the ship away from the pier.</p><p>When they got to the pier, the front of Bokuto’s pirate ship was already half way down the wooden dock.</p><p>Kuroo and Iwaizumi ran ahead, jumping from the dock and landing onto the wooden deck of the pirate ship with a thud.</p><p>With adrenaline still coursing in his veins, Akaashi didn’t have time to worry about if he might make the jump or not.</p><p>He increased his speed, and as soon as him and Bokuto got right to the edge of the dock, they both jumped as high as they could towards the retreating ship.</p><p>Akaashi landed on the deck with a thud, stumbling slightly from the rocking of the ship and landing on his hands on knees.</p><p>Bokuto had already let go of his forearm and was running towards a wooden crate in the middle of the deck.</p><p>It was already open, and inside Akaashi could see <em>hundreds</em> of guns, the metal shining against the lanterns lighting the pier and as well as the moonlight.</p><p>Bokuto and everyone except Oikawa and Kenma grabbed the guns. Oikawa and Kenma grabbed the small satchels with the things used to reload the guns and quickly handed them to everyone.</p><p>Akaashi expected everyone with a gun to aim at Ushijima and his crew, who were now at the pier and shouting. Instead, they each aimed at one ship docked at the pier. There were four ships in all, including Ushijima’s ship.</p><p>“Sink all the ships!” Bokuto shouted. “Make sure there’s no way they can leave the Kingdom!”</p><p>All of them started firing at once, and Akaashi watched as the wood at the bottoms of all the ships started to splinter. It only took a couple of shots to create holes in the bottom of each ship.</p><p>Water started to get into each ship, weighing them down. The wood started to creak from being strained, with the front half of the ships trying to stay afloat while the back half of the ships were being pulled into the murky depths.</p><p>Ushijima and his crew crowded around their own ship, probably yelling in panic. Akaashi couldn’t hear them though; they were already too far away.</p><p>No one on deck said a word. It was completely silent except for some heavy breathing that was slowly beginning to return to normal and the flapping of the sails being pulled in the wind.</p><p>Bokuto sighed, tossing the gun back into the wooden crate. Everyone else followed suit, the guns clanging on top of each other, and Kenma and Oikawa threw the satchels in.</p><p>“Kageyama, Hinata,” Bokuto called. The two of them stood to attention. “Push the crate overboard. I don’t want any chance of someone getting their hands on it ever again.”</p><p>“Aye aye, Captain!” they exlaimed, putting the lid on the crate before beginning to push it towards the edge of the ship.</p><p>There was a small opening at the edge of the ship that didn’t have rails that allowed people to get on and off. The crate wasn’t that big, so it would easily fit through and fall into the ocean, where it would sink to the bottom, never to be touched again.</p><p>“Princess,” Bokuto called.</p><p>Akaashi looked up at him, and he immediately felt mad at himself for actually responding to the name.</p><p>“Come with me.”</p><p>Akaashi hesitated slightly before standing up straight and walking towards him, his head down. He followed Bokuto up the stairs towards his Captain’s quarter’s, his palms starting to sweat from nervousness.</p><p>A loud splash echoed to Akaashi’s right, and he looked over to see Hinata and Kageyama rubbing their hands together after pushing the crate overboard.</p><p>Kegayama, Hinata, and everyone else started to file towards the door which led to below the deck, chatting amongst themselves.</p><p>“Kuroo, Iwaizumi,” Bokuto called.</p><p>Their shoulders visibly tensed as they stopped in their tracks. They looked up at Bokuto, an uncertain smile on Kuroo’s face and a blank expression on Iwaizumi’s.</p><p>“You two stay there,” Bokuto said. “I’m not done with you guys yet.”</p><p>Bokuto pulled Akaashi into the small room with the desk before Kuroo and Iwaizumi could respond.</p><p>Akaashi tensed as Bokuto led him into his room.</p><p>His bedroom was only lit by one candle that casted an orange glow across the whole room. It flickered every couple of seconds, sending shadows dancing across the room.</p><p>“You’re not off the hook either, princess,” Bokuto said, causing Akaashi to widen his eyes and look up at him in alarm.</p><p>“Wha—”

</p><p>Akaashi heard the oh-so familiar jingling of chains, but he didn’t have enough time to react. Bokuto clasped the cold cuffs against his wrists, and they felt impossibly heavier than any of the other times Bokuto had put them on him.</p><p>At least his arms were chained in front of him rather than behind.</p><p>“You might have saved my life, but if you had just listened and stayed with Iwaizumi and Kuroo, it would have saved me a lot of extra trouble,” Bokuto murmered, letting go of the cuffs.</p><p>He placed his hand on Akaashi’s shoulder and applied pressure until Akaashi sank down on the edge of the bed.</p><p>Bokuto cupped the side of Akaashi’s neck and used his thumb to angle his head up. The pirate hat slipped off of Akaashi’s head and landed on the silk sheets behind him.</p><p>Akaashi stared into Bokuto’s eyes, unable to look away. The orange glow of the candle casted shadows on his face, making it look more hard and angled than it actually was.</p><p>Bokuto tilted his head to the side, a small smirk appearing on his face.</p><p>“Get some rest for now,” Bokuto whispered, leaning down so his lips were right next to Akaashi’s ear. “I’ll think of your punishment later.”</p><p>Bokuto pulled away from him, letting go of his neck and disappearing from the room.</p><p>The door to the Captain’s quraters closed, signaling to Akaashi that he was finally alone.</p><p>He stayed sitting up, his hands on his lap.</p><p>He could feel the ship rocking slowly, gently, but it wasn’t soothing in the least.</p><p>But at least he was actually able to feel the rocking, to feel the comfortable bed, to feel the slight warmth of the candle.</p><p>If Akaashi hadn’t done anything back at the Kingdom of Osi, he wouldn’t be able to feel anything right now.</p><p>Akaashi’s heart rate was beginning to slow down, and his breathing wasn’t as shallow as it was before. He couldn’t feel the blood rushing through his veins like it did when he was running throughout the market, either.</p><p>The adrenaline was wearing off.</p><p>And it was making room for guilt to settle in.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I just wanted to give a special thanks to the TikTok user @twobokegirls for recommending this story! It made me so incredibly happy when I saw that you recommended it, and I’m so glad you’re enjoying the story! 🥺</p><p>And thank you to everyone who left Kudos and a comment! Your comments make me so happy and I love reading them! :) </p><p>As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Cuts and Conversations.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“You’re no son of mine,” Akaashi’s father said roughly, dragging Akaashi by his wrist throughout the halls of the castle.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Akaashi felt a sharp pain in his chest at his father’s words as he struggled to keep up with him. He gripped onto his father’s wrist that was holding his arm roughly—his father had never handled him this roughly before.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I’m sorry!” Akaashi exclaimed, tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes. “Please, I’m sorry!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Akaashi and his father arrived at a wooden door. From what he could tell, they were in the basement of the castle, a floor above where the dungeons were.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>His father had never brought him down here before, and his mind was racing with the possibilities of what was going to happen.</em>
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<p>
  <em>Akaashi was shoved into the room, landing on the cold, stone floor. The door closed behind him, leaving him all alone in the dimly lit room.</em>
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<p>
  <em>There was a single lantern hanging by the wooden door that faintly lit up the room. From what Akaashi could see through his blurred vision of tears, there was only a wooden desk in the small room.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>After a couple of minutes, the door to the room opened again, and Akaashi looked up from his place on the floor to see his father with two royal guards on either side of him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And in his father’s hands, his grip so tight against the object that his knuckles were turning white, was a whip.</em>
</p>
<p><em>“Hold him down,” his father instructed, and the two royal guards moved from behind him and started to walk towards Akaashi.</em>
</p>
<p><em>Akaashi started to cry again, his heart racing with fear. “No, father, please!” he pleaded, stumbling back from the guards. His back hit the desk, giving the guards the opportunity to grab him by his forearms and yank him up.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“How pathetic,” his father said, “sixteen-years-old and you’re crying like a little kid.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The guards turned Akaashi around so his back was facing his father and pushed him to his knees. They held his arms out behind him, his shoulders stretching uncomfortably.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Akaashi tried to struggle out of the guard’s grips, but it was no use. He wasn’t strong enough, and all of his helpless crying was starting to wear him out, too.</em>
</p>
<p><em>“I’ll make sure you never do anything like that again,” his father said. “I’ve ingrained the rules of acting like a proper Hina royal into your head, but you still don’t seem to get it.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>His father’s menancing footsteps echoed in Akaashi’s ears as he got closer.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You can’t be sympathetic towards anyone,” his father said. “I’ve tried so hard to get this Kingdom to what it is today, and I’m not going to let you ruin it when you become King.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>His father’s words felt like another slap to the face. He really thought Akaashi was going to ruin everything when he became King?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Hopefully, this will finally teach you to think and act like a true Hina royal,” his father finished.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Akaashi heard a rustling sound, signaling to him that his father had raised his arm.</em>
</p>
<p><em>Akaashi’s heart practically stopped. “No, please! Don’t!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The whip zipped through the air.</em>
</p>
<p>*      *      *</p>
<p>Akaashi woke up with a jolt.</p>
<p>His breathing was shallow and heavy, and his heart was hammering in his ears.</p>
<p>The candle in Bokuto’s room had been blown out, but a faint orange glow was coming from the other room. It only barely lit up the room Akaashi was in.</p>
<p>Akaashi pushed himself up from where he was laying on his side, the chains on his cuffs jingling softly.</p>
<p>Moving his body made him realize the bottom half of his shirt was plastered to his back with sweat. In fact, he was sweating profusely. He could feel his hair sticking up from where he laid his head down on the pillow, and sweat droplets stuck to his forehead. He brought his arm up to wipe at his forehead with his shirt sleeve.</p>
<p>It also made him realize that the scars near the bottom of his back were tingling uncomfortably.</p>
<p>Why did he dream of that, of all things? Why did that memory have to come back <em>now</em>? Was it because of what happened back at the Kingdom of Osi only a couple of hours ago?</p>
<p>And why couldn’t he remember the events that happened <em>before</em> that?</p>
<p>He couldn’t understand why, and there was no use to keep dwelling on it when he couldn’t seem to remember.</p>
<p>Akaashi slid his boots on his feet, tiptoing as quietly as he could through the doorway of Bokuto’s bedroom and into the room with the desk.</p>
<p>The singular candle on the desk illuminated Bokuto’s figure, who was laying down at the desk, arms crossed and being used as a cushion for his head.</p>
<p>Akaashi paused at the doorway, hoping that he wasn’t awake.</p>
<p>He relaxed the tiniest bit when he heard Bokuto snore softly.</p>
<p>Was this where Bokuto had been sleeping every night while Akaashi enjoyed his comfortable bed? If so, then <em>why</em>?</p>
<p>Akaashi tiptoed over to Bokuto’s desk, holding his arms out in front of him slightly so the chains didn’t make any noise.</p>
<p>Under Bokuto on the desk was the map Date Tech had given him. All over the map, at least the parts Akaashi could see that weren’t covered by Bokuto’s body, were circles and arrows pointing at certain things, but there were no words on it.</p>
<p>His black coat was draped across the back of the chair he was sitting on, and he was also wearing his tricornered hat, for some reason.</p>
<p>The white feather of the hat extended out, dangerously close to the flame of the candle that was being used to provide light.</p>
<p>If Bokuto shifted even in the slightest, his whole hat could catch on fire.</p>
<p>Akaashi bunched up the chains in his right hand so they wouldn’t make any noise, and moved the candle towards the edge of the desk.</p>
<p>He was only moving it because he wouldn’t want to take the brunt of Bokuto’s anger if his hat got ruined. That’s all. No other reason.</p>
<p>Bokuto shifted softly, Akaashi tensing at the movement.</p>
<p>But Bokuto was still asleep. His hat had now fallen off of his head, exposing his peaceful, sleeping face.</p>
<p>The orange glow of the candle illuminated the healed scar just under Bokuto’s left eye. The scar that Akaashi gave him when he had taken over his royal ship.</p>
<p>Looking at him now made Akaashi think back to all the things Bokuto had done for him. It made him realize that Bokuto wasn’t like the other pirates he had encountered.</p>
<p>Bokuto was still scary, and intimdating, and annoying, but he didn’t seem to be entirely <em>evil</em> like Futakuchi or Ushijima.</p>
<p>Akaashi looked away from Bokuto’s face and instead looked at the wall.</p>
<p>He shouldn’t be thinking things like that, especially since he had that nightmare. It wasn’t what a Hina royal would think.</p>
<p>Akaashi shouldn’t be thinking that Bokuto wasn’t evil. Of course he was—he was still a pirate, after all. </p>
<p>Akaashi’s forehead was wet with sweat again. Instead of wiping it, he tiptoed towards the door and slipped out into the night for some fresh air.</p>
<p>He walked up to the railing that ran along the upper deck that prevented someone from falling to the main deck below and rested his hands on it.</p>
<p>The night air was refreshing, gently blowing on his skin and cooling down his heated up face. Akaashi breathed in deeply, letting out a soft, pleased sigh. He felt his back and shoulders immediately untense.</p>
<p>The feeling of the wind against his face, brushing through his hair, and rustling his clothes felt so nice. It helped him clear his frazzled mind.</p>
<p>At least on this ship he had some time to actually relax. Back at the castle, when he couldn’t sleep, he wasn’t allowed to leave the bed let alone the room unless he wanted the royal guards breathing down his neck.</p>
<p>Akaashi opened his eyes, staring up at the black night sky. There were some dark grey clouds blocking the stars and moon, but as the ship moved throughout the water, the clouds would give way and show small pieces of the sparkling stars against the night sky.</p>
<p>His mind flashed to the earlier events back at the Kingdom of Osi, when he had saved Bokuto.</p>
<p>The scars on his back seemed to tingle just at the thought of it. A Hina royal would never save a pirate, no matter what. Although Akaashi only saved him so he could survive, it made him wonder why he was trying so hard to survive in the first place. His father probably expected him to be dead, anyway.</p>
<p>Maybe he was trying so hard to survive because he didn’t think it was fair.</p>
<p>When Akaashi thought Ushijima was going to shoot him, he remembered thinking that he was in that situation because of his father.</p>
<p>If they hadn’t have taken an obvious royal ship, they wouldn’t have been attacked by pirates, Akaashi wouldn’t have been taken, and all the other events wouldn’t have ensued.</p>
<p>Akaashi didn’t want to jump off the ship or be killed by Ushijima because he didn’t want to throw his life away for all the stupid and prideful decisions his father made.</p>
<p>So he was going to keep surviving. Even if he somehow went back to his Kingdom and his father was furious with him, he wouldn’t regret this decision. It wasn’t fair that he had to pay with his life for all the things his father did wrong.</p>
<p>Akaashi inhaled deeply again at the revelation he had just made. Guilt swirled around in his chest, but he couldn’t really pinpoint the exact reason why.</p>
<p>The creaking of a door pulled Akaashi from his thoughts.</p>
<p>“Can’t sleep?” a voice echoed behind him.</p>
<p>Akaashi tensed, any form of calmness he had felt immediately leaving his body.</p>
<p>He spun around, coming face to face with Bokuto.</p>
<p>Tiredness was still in Bokuto’s eyes, but they were still as bright and as piercing as ever in the moonlight. He wasn’t wearing his hat anymore, and his two-toned grey hair was still down, covering his forehead.</p>
<p>Akaashi inched back slightly, Bokuto’s words about a punishment floating around in his mind.</p>
<p>Bokuto chuckled softly. “No need to be so tense. I haven’t thought of your punishment yet.”</p>
<p>That didn’t do anything to ease Akaashi’s mind in the slightest.</p>
<p>Bokuto closed the door and walked towards the railing. He leaned his forearms on it, looking out onto the deck, the wind rustling his grey hair.</p>
<p>“Is it because of what happened?” Bokuto asked.</p>
<p>For a split second, Akaashi thought Bokuto was talking about the nightmare he had about how his father gave him his scars—but then he realized Bokuto was talking about what happened with Ushijima.</p>
<p>Of course, there was no way Bokuto knew that his father was the one to give him those scars.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Akaashi lied, toying with the peeling black paint on the railing.</p>
<p>It was weird having such a... normal conversation with Bokuto, especially since the time he’s been on this ship, he hasn’t witnessed any bit of normalcy. He kept being thrust into scary situation after scary situation.</p>
<p>“Did you have a nightmare about it?” Bokuto asked, pushing himself up into a standing position and inching closer to Akaashi.</p>
<p>Akaashi tensed again, but he didn’t take any steps back.</p>
<p>“Because you’re drenched in sweat,” Bokuto said. “And your shirt is stuck to your back.”</p>
<p>Bokuto reached his hand around Akaashi and placed his large hand on the small of his back.</p>
<p>“Don’t touch me,” Akaashi said, not angrily, but rather desperately. He pushed Bokuto’s arm away from him. Now that Bokuto knew about his scars, he <em>really</em> didn’t want him going anywhere near his back.</p>
<p>“Princess,” Bokuto said.</p>
<p>Akaashi looked up, face in a scowl. “What—”</p>
<p>His words got caught in his throat.</p>
<p>Bokuto was staring down at his own hand that he held in front of him. In the moonlight, Akaashi could see that his fingers were coated with a dark substance.</p>
<p><em>Blood</em>.</p>
<p>Bokuto’s hand that had touched his back was slightly coated in blood.</p>
<p>“What happened?” Bokuto asked, voice suddenly turning hard.</p>
<p>Akaashi’s heart was hammering in his ears. Ever since he’s gotten his scars, they’ve never once opened up before. Was that why he was sweating, because he was bleeding? And how long was he bleeding for?</p>
<p>How did it even happen?</p>
<p>Akaashi’s eyes widened with realization. His scar must have opened back up when Tendou harshly pressed the gun against his back and it scraped against it.</p>
<p>“Tendou—he pressed the gun against my back roughly and I guess it scraped against my—”</p>
<p>“Go wait by my desk,” Bokuto said, already turning around and walking down the stairs towards the main deck below.</p>
<p>Akaashi did so without even a second thought, walking back into the room and standing right in front of the chair at Bokuto’s desk.</p>
<p>It wasn’t like him to just listen to Bokuto, but he was kind of worried. He didn’t know how long he was bleeding for, and he didn’t even know if he was going to be okay. Pirates didn’t exactly have the greatest medical supplies.</p>
<p>Bokuto returned after a couple of minutes, a damp cloth and gauze in his hands.</p>
<p>Akaashi immediately went to reach for them, chains jingling together. Bokuto moved them out of his reach.</p>
<p>Annoyance flared in his chest.</p>
<p>“Now’s not the time for your teasing,” Akaashi said. “Give those to me.”</p>
<p>“You’re being awfully demanding for someone in chains, princess,” Bokuto said, a smirk forming on his face. He walked around his desk and sat in his chair, scooting it closer to where Akaashi was. “And I’m not teasing. I’m going to do it for you.”</p>
<p>“Like I’m going to let <em>you</em> help me,” Akaashi said. “I can do it myself.”</p>
<p>“There’s no mirror, so you won’t be able to clean the cut properly, and you won’t be able to even wrap it properly, either,” Bokuto said, placing the gauze on the desk and keeping the cloth in his hand.</p>
<p>“I can do it just fine without a mirror <em>and</em> without your help,” Akaashi concluded, reaching for the gauze on the desk.</p>
<p>Bokuto’s hand shot out, grabbing the chain between the cuffs. He tugged Akaashi down until they were eye level, Akaashi’s heart racing at the soft scowl painting Bokuto’s features.</p>
<p>“I don’t know why you’re being so damn prideful all of a sudden,” Bokuto said roughly. “But it still pisses me off that you’ve tried so hard to survive up until this point, and now you’re going to throw it all away by not accepting someone’s help.”</p>
<p>Akaashi stopped resisting at Bokuto’s words.</p>
<p>“So I suggest you stop being so prideful and let me help you, or I will do it <em>forcefully</em>,” Bokuto said, eyes bright with anger.</p>
<p>“Forcefully?” Akaashi echoed, voice uncertain.</p>
<p>“I have an extra set of cuffs and a headboard on my bed, princess, so you figure it out.”</p>
<p>Akaashi swallowed thickly, not even wanting to <em>imagine</em> what that would entail.</p>
<p>Bokuto let go of Akaashi’s cuffs, and Akaashi turned around slowly so his back faced Bokuto, his head hung low.</p>
<p>He wasn’t letting Bokuto help him because Bokuto was right. Nope. That absolutely wasn’t it.</p>
<p>He was only letting Bokuto help him so his cut didn’t get infected and he didn’t die.</p>
<p>Because maybe Bokuto’s words about trying hard to survive had gotten to him more than he’d like to admit.</p>
<p>Akaashi’s heart rate picked up as soon as he felt Bokuto’s hands at his sides, gently tugging at his shirt that was tucked into his black trousers.</p>
<p>Akaashi could tell from the stinging that the cut was along his lower back. So when Bokuto started tugging the shirt even higher than where the cut was, Akaashi shot out his hand to grip Bokuto’s wrist.</p>
<p>“Not my whole back,” Akaashi said hurriedly. “Please, not my whole back.”</p>
<p>He hated how desperate he sounded.</p>
<p>He hasn’t let anyone touch or even see his back after what had happened. Letting Bokuto do both, even if it was a small portion of it, was still a lot for him. <em>Especially</em> because of Bokuto’s status as a pirate.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Bokuto said softly.</p>
<p>Akaashi let go of Bokuto’s wrist. He bunched up his shirt at the front, so the clothing was tight against his back and only showed the bit of skin that was wounded.</p>
<p>Now he just hoped Bokuto wouldn’t ask him any questions about the scars.</p>
<p>“It’s not that bad,” Bokuto said, calming Akaashi’s nerves. He picked up the cloth on the desk, “But this is going to sting.”</p>
<p>“Wha—”</p>
<p>Bokuto pressed the cloth against the cut, and grabbed at Akaashi’s hip to keep him in place.</p>
<p>Feeling Bokuto’s calloused hand against his own skin was more of a shock than the white hot pain that ran along his cut after the cloth was kept on his back for a couple of seconds.</p>
<p>Akaashi reflexively arched his back to get away from the pain, which just caused Bokuto’s grip to tighten even more. Akaashi held onto the edge of the desk with one hand, knuckles turning white.</p>
<p>He found himself more focused on Bokuto’s hand against his skin than he did the slight pain, his heart hammering in his ears.</p>
<p>Sure they’ve had skin to skin contact before when Bokuto grabbed his hands or wrists, but Bokuto’s fingers pressing on the side of his abdomen while his thumb pressed against his back felt <em>very</em> different.</p>
<p>Before he knew it, Bokuto had taken the cloth away from his back, but his hand still stayed against his hip. The cloth was now pink with blood, and Bokuto placed it on the floor before grabbing the gauze.</p>
<p>Bokuto then started to wrap the guaze around Akaashi’s abdomen.</p>
<p>Akaashi found himself slightly tensing whenever Bokuto’s fingertips grazed his stomach or hips.</p>
<p>Their breathing was the only sound filling the room, and Akaashi tried to keep his even despite his nervousness.</p>
<p>The air felt so tense, like a heavy cloud had settled into the room.</p>
<p>Maybe it was because of how backwards this whole situation was.</p>
<p>A pirate was patching up a royal. A <em>Hina</em> royal at that. And Akaashi was <em>letting</em> him.</p>
<p>“You confuse me,” Akaashi said softly, breaking the silence. He didn’t know why he was speaking so softly, since there was no way anyone could hear him below deck if he talked normally.</p>
<p>Bokuto was still wrapping gauze around Akaashi’s abdomen. “How so?” he murmured.</p>
<p>“You’re the last person who should be helping me,” Akaashi said. “You’re the last person who should <em>want</em> to help me.”</p>
<p>How ironic was it that a person who was supposed to hate him the most was the one treating him nicely? And how ironic was it that Akaashi, who was also supposed to hate him, was letting Bokuto help him?</p>
<p>“I know that all pirates and most civilians hate me,” Akaashi said, staring at the dancing flame of the candle. “And all the pirates I’ve met so far make it very clear that they do. Futakuchi wanted to get ransom money, and Ushijima just wanted to kill me. I could practically <em>feel</em> their hate for me.”</p>
<p>Bokuto placed the gauze back on the desk, signaling that he was done tending to Akaashi’s wound.</p>
<p>“They also told me what they planned to do with me within the first couple minutes of meeting me,” Akaashi continued, turning around to face Bokuto, making sure to cover his exposed skin with his shirt.</p>
<p>“I don’t feel that hate with you,” Akaashi said, staring into Bokuto’s bright eyes, who was looking back at him intensely. “And I still have no idea what you plan to do with me. Because if you wanted to kill me or get ransom money, I think you would have done that by now.”</p>
<p>Bokuto stared up at him contemplatively before tilting his head, a crooked smile forming on his face. “You’re right.”</p>
<p>Akaashi waited with bated breath for Bokuto to continue, the tiniest bit hopeful to get some sort of answer. But Bokuto crossed his arms, leaned back in his seat, and stayed staring up at Akaashi with that stupid, taunting smile.</p>
<p>Akaashi put his face in his hands, sighing through his nose in disbelief. Did he really expect anything else from Bokuto?</p>
<p>“You always leave me with more questions than answers, you know,” Akaashi said, removing his hands from his face and looking back at Bokuto.</p>
<p>“What kind of pirate would I be if I wasn’t cool and mysterious?” Bokuto asked, that playful smile still on his face. “And you did save my life, so it’s only fair that I help you out in than—”</p>
<p>“Don’t thank me,” Akaashi cut him off. He didn’t know if he was just imagining it, but the scars on his back began to tingle at Bokuto’s words. “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for myself.”</p>
<p>“Really?” Bokuto asked, smile falling and face turning serious.</p>
<p>Akaashi crossed his arms and leaned against the desk, diverting his eyes to the floor.</p>
<p>He kept telling himself that the only reason he saved Bokuto was to survive, and that was true. For the most part, at least.</p>
<p>A small part of him saved Bokuto because he was the only person he’s ever met who treated him like a <em>person</em>.</p>
<p>Civilians hated his guts because he was a royal and the son to a mean and ruthless King, and his father treated him not like a person but as something that he can control and mold into the perfect, merciless King.</p>
<p>Bokuto seemed to be the only one who saw Akaashi as a person rather than a royal.</p>
<p>So how could he let the only person who treated him differently die?</p>
<p>Maybe that’s why he had that nightmare. He thought that if he kept telling himself the only reason why he saved Bokuto was for his own survival, it would soon be true, but it <em>wasn’t</em> the only reason.</p>
<p>He was acting the complete opposite of how a regular Hina royal would act, and his subconscious was reminding him of that.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Akaashi answered, growing nervous under Bokuto’s intense gaze. “I did it so I could survive. Why else would I save you?”</p>
<p>Bokuto shrugged, looking like he was thinking hard. “Who knows. I thought you saved me in thanks for saving your life so many times already.”</p>
<p>Akaashi thought back to his first day on Bokuto’s ship. “For your information, I wouldn’t have fallen off the railing if it weren’t for you. <em>And</em>, you let me hang over the side of the ship for way too long.”</p>
<p>“Made up for it by saving your life though, right?” Bokuto said, smiling widely and winking at him.</p>
<p>Akaashi simply shook his head at Bokuto’s words, but he didn’t feel annoyed or angry.</p>
<p>“Why did you save me that day, anyway?” Akaashi asked, tilting his head to the side.</p>
<p>He had wanted to learn the answer to this question ever since the event happened the first day on this ship.</p>
<p>He thought Bokuto only saved him so he could use Akaashi to get a one-up on the Kingdom of Hina, but that didn’t seem to be the case anymore. Bokuto seemed to be taking him everywhere but his own Kingdom.</p>
<p>“Because you weren’t planning on following the Hina rule,” Bokuto answered.</p>
<p>Akaashi was torn away from his thoughts at Bokuto’s answer. He locked eyes with Bokuto, who had no more wide smile on his face. He was being completely serious.</p>
<p>“W-What?” Akaashi stuttered, a little shocked at his sincere answer. “What does that mean?”</p>
<p>“The Hina rule was put in place so the Hina royals can keep their power,” Bokuto said, pushing himself off of his chair. “If a royal is captured by pirates, or is killed by them, civilians will realize that they’re not the all-powerful rulers they make themselves out to be, and they’ll start to lose that pride they have from being so powerful. Then they’ll start to lose their power.”</p>
<p>Bokuto took the one step needed to reach Akaashi and placed his hands on the desk on either side of him, effectively caging him in.</p>
<p>Akaashi brought his hands up and placed them on Bokuto’s chest, chains jingling softly. He wasn’t pushing him away exactly, but he was making sure Bokuto didn’t get closer than he already was.</p>
<p>He angled his head to stare up at Bokuto, his heart hammering in his ears at their proximity and at Bokuto’s answer.</p>
<p>“I know that no Hina royal has ever done it before, since they never used to leave their damn castle, but I found it crazy how they could kill themselves so easily just so other Hina royals could keep stepping all over the people in the slums to make more money and gain more power,” Bokuto murmured.</p>
<p>Akaashi was too scared to think about it when it was first mentioned, but he briefly wondered how Bokuto knew about the Hina rule in the first place. It wasn’t public knowledge, and the only people who would know about it were Hina royals and a few select royal guards, since the rule only applied to Hina royals, afterall.</p>
<p>“What does that have to do with saving me?” Akaashi asked, voice wavering slightly.</p>
<p>“I saved you because you’re not evil like the other royals,” Bokuto whispered. “Since you didn’t plan to jump off that day, there’s clearly something you care more about than power and pride.”</p>
<p>Hearing those words sent a shock throughout Akaashi’s body. He fisted his hands in Bokuto’s shirt and looked down at the floor, his mind running a mile a minute.</p>
<p>Even Bokuto, a <em>pirate</em>, was starting to notice how terrible of a royal Akaashi was.</p>
<p>“Angel?” Bokuto asked softly, moving his arm to place his index finger under Akaashi’s chin.</p>
<p>Akaashi pushed Bokuto away, not roughly, but just enough so that he took a step back and gave Akaashi the space he needed to walk away from the desk.</p>
<p>It started to occur to him that ever since he’s gotten on this ship, he’s started to question everything.</p>
<p>Before, while he didn’t like staying in the castle and being constantly scrutinized by his father, he never questioned it. He thought it was <em>supposed</em> to be like that, so he never questioned whether something was right or wrong.</p>
<p>Now, he was questioning everything. The way his father treated him, the way royals treated civilians, if Bokuto wasn’t as evil as he thought he was—</p>
<p>It made him feel so conflicted. Because he <em>shouldn’t</em> be thinking those things, but he couldn’t seem to <em>help</em> it, especially since he was being shown things in a different light.</p>
<p>But of course, he wouldn’t say that out loud.</p>
<p>If Akaashi kept it to himself, then he can push his thoughts and feelings down, just like he was used to doing, and hopefully forget that he ever thought this way.</p>
<p>But if he said it out loud, Bokuto would remember and use it against him.</p>
<p>If he admitted it out loud, then that would make it <em>real</em>.</p>
<p>And from the way Bokuto asked him such leading questions, it seemed to Akaashi that he already knew the answers. He just wanted Akaashi to admit it; he wanted Akaashi to be the one to <em>make it real</em>.</p>
<p>Like that was ever going to happen.</p>
<p>“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Akaashi said, voice quiet. “But I don’t feel like talking anymore.”</p>
<p>Akaashi didn’t wait for Bokuto to say anything. He didn’t <em>want</em> to hear what he had to say, just in case it left Akaashi feeling even more conflicted.</p>
<p>He started to walk towards the bedroom door.</p>
<p>“Wait,” Bokuto said. Out of the corner of his eyes, Akaashi saw him fish into in his pocket and take a couple of steps towards him, making Akaashi tense up.</p>
<p>Akaashi stopped and side-eyed him. He untensed when he noticed the key to the cuffs in Bokuto’s outstretched hand.</p>
<p>Akaashi looked up at him wearily.</p>
<p>Bokuto looked so... dispirited. He looked as if he was waiting, <em>hoping</em> for something to happen, but the thing he was hoping for ended up not happening.</p>
<p>“Your shirt has blood on it,” Bokuto said. “Change into a fresh one before getting in bed.”</p>
<p>Akaashi’s chest tightened. There Bokuto was again, being caring, being <em>nice</em>—making Akaashi feel <em>conflicted</em>.</p>
<p>He took the key from Bokuto’s hand and disappeared into the bedroom.</p>
<p>He unlocked the cuffs and placed them on the dresser that was opposite the bed.</p>
<p>He sifted through one of the drawers, through the many colored shirts, each one looking way too big for him.</p>
<p>Akaashi then realized that Bokuto only got the clothes that specifically fit him below deck, in one of the rooms.</p>
<p>All the shirts here were Bokuto’s. <em>Obviously</em>.</p>
<p>Akaashi sighed in annoyance, pulling out a white silk shirt and laying it out on the bed.</p>
<p>He started to unbotton his shirt.</p>
<p>Changing felt kind of... personal, now that Akaashi knew Bokuto was just in the other room. He was sure that Bokuto was able to hear the silk shirt sliding along his skin as he took it off and let it fall to the floor.</p>
<p>He quickly put the other shirt on, buttoning it all the way to the second-last button.</p>
<p>As expected, it was pretty big on him. It ended just above his knees, the sleeves enveloped his hands so he needed to roll them up, and the collar ended just above his shoulders, showing off his collarbones.</p>
<p>But at least it was comfy and the cool silk felt nice against his over-heated skin.</p>
<p>Akaashi crawled onto the bed, making sure to lay on his stomach so as to not irriate his wound anymore than it already was. He grabbed the extra pillow on the bed and put it beside him to make sure he wouldn’t roll over.</p>
<p>If his cut healed quickly, he wouldn’t have to go through that tense moment where he felt like he couldn’t breathe with Bokuto ever again.</p>
<p>He laid down, staring at the flickering orange light of the candle coming from the other room.</p>
<p>Now that he couldn’t focus on anything else, the guilt still swirling around in his chest caught his attention again.</p>
<p>He tried to shove the feeling down and make it go away.</p>
<p>Because when he thought about it, should he really be feeling guilty?</p>
<p>Maybe he should feel bad for not being able to think and act like a true Hina royal, especially from having all of those lessons and punishments for <em>not</em> acting like one.</p>
<p>But should he feel guilty for questioning his father and wondering why he’s treated him so badly for all those years?</p>
<p>Should he really feel bad for not wanting to protect someone who never tried to protect him?</p>
<p>Akaashi brought his hand up to his head. He really didn’t know the answer, but he was starting to get a headache from thinking so hard and so much about it.</p>
<p>Instead, he decided to close his eyes and drift off to sleep, hoping he didn’t have another nightmare.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Your comments in the last chapter made my whole month, thank you guys so much! I am so glad you guys are liking this story, it really makes me happy! :) 💕</p>
<p>As always, thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Pasts and Punishments.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to my beta reader/editor @han_ying, go check her out! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Akaashi woke up the next morning, thankful that he didn't have another nightmare about the event that happened so many years ago. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, though, he did have another nightmare, this time one about the Kingdom of Osi and what would have happened if he hadn't done anything back then.</p>
<p>He sat up in bed, his cut stinging slightly. It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would—it really mustn't have been that bad, just like what Bokuto said.</p>
<p>Akaashi rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes, realizing Bokuto's shirt that he wore had moved into an uncomfortable position on his body. The left side of the collar had fallen down and settled just above his elbow, revealing his shoulder and upper arm, while the right side of the collar bunched up against his neck. </p>
<p>Sighing in slight annoyance, he pulled at the collar until the shirt sat comfortably around his shoulders again. </p>
<p>When looking around the room, Akasshi found that the shirt from yesterday had disappeared from the floor, and the cuffs that he had left on the dresser were nowhere in sight, either. </p>
<p>Akaashi's cheeks grew hot in embarrassment. He hoped Bokuto had cleaned up before the shirt bunched up at his elbow and revealed almost half of his upper torso.</p>
<p>He placed his feet on the wooden floor, feeling the slight rocking of the ship as it cut through the water, heading to wherever it was that they were heading. </p>
<p>He hesitantly placed his boots on his feet, not wanting to go into the other room and run into Bokuto. </p>
<p>Ever since their conversation last night, Akaashi wanted to avoid him at all costs. Because for some reason, whenever they had a conversation, Akaashi was left feeling conflicted about almost everything in his life, even when he shouldn't be. </p>
<p>Avoiding Bokuto would be in his best interest, since he didn't want to have guilt swirling around in his chest all day after a single conversation with him. </p>
<p>He peeked into the other room, his whole body practically deflating when he saw the one and only person he didn't want to see sitting at the desk. He would have preferred it if Oikawa was sitting in that chair instead. </p>
<p>Bokuto was looking down at the map he had gotten from Date Tech, eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration and chin resting in his hand. His hair was spiked up today.</p>
<p>Akaashi had only realized it after seeing Bokuto with his hair down for quite some time, but Bokuto looked quite different with his hair up than he did with his hair down. With his hair up, it made his face seem more angled and—</p>
<p>And <em>that</em> didn't matter at all. </p>
<p>Akaashi swallowed the guilt already threatening to bubble up in his throat. Did he not learn anything from yesterday's conversation? Did he not learn anything from the nightmare he had?</p>
<p>He sucked in a sharp breath before making a beeline for the door, heart racing as soon as he felt Bokuto's eyes land on him, following his movements. Akaashi pretended not to notice and stared at the door leading out onto the deck with determination. </p>
<p>Akaashi grabbed onto the door handle, ready to get out of the room where a thick cloud of tension had already settled in a matter of seconds. </p>
<p>He twisted the handle. </p>
<p>“Ah,” Bokuto said, in a playful but warning way. </p>
<p>His words stopped Akaashi from pushing the door open and leaving. </p>
<p>He looked over his shoulder at Bokuto, who was now leaning back in the chair with his arms crossed against his chest, causing the dark blue silk shirt he was wearing to strain against his biceps. </p>
<p>“You don't give your Captain a good morning after leaving him so quickly last night?” he asked, a teasing smirk forming on his lips. </p>
<p>It seemed he was back to his old self—making it his mission to humiliate Akaashi in any way that he could. Still, Akaashi preferred this side of him rather than the side that turned serious and asked him prying questions that left him feeling conflicted.</p>
<p>Akaashi contemplated. Saying good morning couldn't hurt, especially since it would probably appease him and let Akaashi go back to his daily duties, which meant he would be far away from him. </p>
<p>Hopefully the next couple of days could be like the days leading up to the Date Tech trade. Akaashi hadn't seen Bokuto for two days during that time. Cleaning the deck thoroughly would give him the perfect opportunity to clear his mind.</p>
<p>“Good morning,” he finally said, although he averted his eyes. “Captain,” he added. </p>
<p>“That's more like it,” Bokuto said, pushing himself off of his chair. The movement caught Akaashi's attention, and he focused his eyes on Bokuto, watching him rather cautiously. “But before you leave, I think you're forgetting something, princess.” </p>
<p>Akaashi immediately thought back to the missing handcuffs in Bokuto's room. “Is it the cuffs?” </p>
<p>“Nope,” Bokuto said, his smirk growing into a cocky smile because Akaashi didn't get the answer right away. “Man, you really like those cuffs, huh?” </p>
<p>Akaashi scowled at his words, because of course he didn't like the cuffs, but his mind was trying to remember something important that he was supposedly forgetting. </p>
<p>He froze slightly once he realized what he was forgetting. And the thought caused slight fear to trickle into his veins.</p>
<p>He had been so worried about it last night, but his conflicting thoughts seemed to push it to the back of his mind. </p>
<p>He was forgetting about his punishment for running off in the Kingdom of Osi.</p>
<p>Akaashi swallowed thickly, feeling Bokuto's eyes follow the movement. It made that annoying, cocky smile on Bokuto's face grow wider once he realized Akaashi remembered. </p>
<p>“Have you been worrying about it?” Bokuto murmured, starting to take slow, almost menacing steps towards Akaashi. “About what I'm going to do to you? Like, maybe tying you to the bow of the ship for a while until you beg for me to take you down?”</p>
<p>Akaashi's heart hammered in his ears as Bokuto got closer. It was out of fear, and some other emotion that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Either way, it wasn't pleasant. </p>
<p>He twisted the door knob as quietly as he could, but Bokuto reached out his hand and placed it over Akaashi's, making sure he wouldn't be able to push open the door and slip away.</p>
<p>“Well?” his voice was low, yellow eyes looking down at him. </p>
<p>Akaashi couldn't speak. He didn't know why, but the words he was thinking just couldn't seem to leave his mouth. Maybe it's because he was afraid he'd be digging himself a deeper hole of guilt if he did. </p>
<p>“But I thought of a better one for you,” Bokuto said, dipping down slightly so his mouth was closer to his ear. There were a couple of beats of silence; Akaashi felt like he was on his tip-toes in fearsome anticipation. “Since your running off caused a lot of problems yesterday night, you're not allowed to leave my side or my sight until I say so.”</p>
<p>That was the complete opposite of what Akaashi wanted. He honestly would have preferred being tied to the bow of the ship for a whole day than staying by Bokuto's side twenty-four seven. </p>
<p>Because it was all Bokuto's fault that he was feeling so conflicted and guilty. And if he kept staying by his side, he was worried that he'd keep feeling that way.</p>
<p>And it didn't sit right with him that Bokuto decided on his punishment after the conversation they had last night. His reason for the punishment obviously wasn't the real one, and Akaashi had a suspicion that he knew exactly what Bokuto's actual motive was.</p>
<p>A lightbulb seemed to go off in Akaashi's head. Bokuto didn't say anything about his daily chores. He could be extra slow in cleaning the deck, making sure it would last almost the whole day, so he wouldn't have to talk to Bokuto at all. It was easy to say he was busy and concentrating on cleaning rather than him.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Akaashi agreed, quickly leaning away from him and bursting through the door. </p>
<p>The warmth of the sun greeted him, as well as the sound of the ocean waves. It took his eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to the bright sun, but when they did, Akaashi could clearly see the light blue sky without a single cloud in sight.</p>
<p>Akaashi would have been able to enjoy it if it wasn't for Bokuto coming up behind him. </p>
<p>“How does your cut feel?” he asked into his ear, making Akaashi nearly jump out of his skin. </p>
<p>He moved away before Bokuto had the opportunity to place his hand on his back, which he seemed obsessed with doing now, ever since he learned about the scars’ existence.</p>
<p>“It's fine,” he answered curtly. </p>
<p>“Good.” Bokuto's yellow eyes traveled from his face to his exposed collarbones, then down his chest and abdomen towards the bottom of the shirt. He hummed as if was seeing something that he liked. “You look good in my clothes, princess.” </p>
<p>Before, his comments like that would just make Akaashi annoyed. But now, those comments had his heart racing out of some sort of emotion. Probably fear. </p>
<p>No, it was definitely fear, because now, images were flashing in his mind of the nightmare he had last night. The nightmare that was telling him to be a better, proper royal. </p>
<p>Akaashi turned around to glare at him slightly, but of course, as always, the glare didn't seem to affect Bokuto at all. </p>
<p>“Hearing you say that makes me want a different shirt,” Akaashi said. It felt kind of... off wearing Bokuto's shirt, especially because it was very obvious that it was his. </p>
<p>Enemies shouldn't be wearing another enemy's clothes. </p>
<p>“Afraid I can't do that,” Bokuto said, starting to walk down the stairs leading to the main deck. Akaashi trailed behind him, only because he had to. “If you wear a tight shirt, it's just going to bother your cut even more, so you'll be wearing my shirts for the time being.” </p>
<p>They made it onto the main deck, and Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows. That made no sense. He could just wear shirts that fit him without tucking it in— </p>
<p>“Is that the Captain's shirt?” someone whispered. The voice was slightly higher pitched; it sounded like Hinata. </p>
<p>“Obviously, dumbass.” That was definitely Kageyama. He was the only one who was allowed to call Hinata that. </p>
<p>Hinata made an offended noise. </p>
<p>“Wait, but why would the prince be wearing his shirt when he doesn't seem to lik—”</p>
<p>“Shh!” </p>
<p>Akaashi wanted a giant wave to hit the deck and wash him away. Of course Bokuto wasn't just looking out for his health by making him wear his shirt. He shouldn't be surprised that Bokuto had multiple motives for doing something, especially when it came to him. </p>
<p>“Hinata, Kageyama,” Bokuto said, stepping towards them. “How are Kuroo and Iwaizumi doing?” </p>
<p>It was then that Akaashi remembered that they would probably have a punishment, too. Bokuto had talked to the both of them last night, but he doubted that was it. If Bokuto's got Akaashi's so spot on, a shiver ran up his spine at what punishment he gave to them. </p>
<p>“I think they're almost done,” Hinata said. </p>
<p>Akaashi didn't miss the way Hinata’s eyes passed between him and Bokuto, lingering on the shirt he wore. If he was trying to not make it obvious that he was looking, he was failing miserably. </p>
<p>As if on cue, Kuroo pulled himself up from the right side of the ship, where there was no railing so people could get on and off ofit. The railings on each side of the opening had rope tied to them, and it led over the ship, probably providing Kuroo with some stability. He dropped the knife he was carrying in his hand and practically flopped onto the deck. </p>
<p>On the other side of the ship, Iwaizumi was pulled onto the deck by Oikawa, who had a similar looking knife to Kuroo's sticking out of the back of his trousers. </p>
<p>“Are you two done getting all the barnacles off my ship?” Bokuto asked, rather happily. </p>
<p>“Yes, Captain,” they both grumbled out. </p>
<p>“Great! Now you two are going to use these brushes—” Bokuto threw two brushes, smaller than the ones Akaashi used to clean the deck, “—and you're going to clean every nook and cranny of this ship.” </p>
<p>Akaashi frowned slightly at his words. If Kuroo and Iwaizumi were both cleaning the deck, which was his job, that meant— </p>
<p>He peeked up at Bokuto from his peripheral vision, his heart almost immediately dropping at the cocky smile he was already sending his way. </p>
<p>That meant Akaashi didn't have an excuse anymore. He couldn't avoid Bokuto by doing his little chores now. He'd have to stay by Bokuto's side all day for god knows how many days. </p>
<p>Probably for a while, considering how much Bokuto already seemed to be enjoying this.</p>
<p>Akaashi believed he could manage, though. The nightmare last night had changed his perspective. He felt like it was telling him that the little doubts he was having about his kingdom, about his father, weren't true. </p>
<p>Bokuto was just trying to confuse him. And he wasn't going to let him do that anymore. </p>
<p>But that didn't change the fact that the punishment Bokuto chose was probably the worst one he could have come up with for him. </p>
<p>*          *          *</p>
<p>Bokuto spent most of the afternoon walking around the ship, surveilling Iwaizumi and Kuroo as they cleaned. </p>
<p>Akaashi trailed behind him begrudgingly, getting more and more annoyed whenever Bokuto would turn around to make sure he was following close behind and smiling pridefully when he confirmed that he was. </p>
<p>It wasn't completely boring, though. At one point, when they were having lunch, Kageyama and Hinata were asking all about what had happened with Ushijima back at the Kingdom of Osi. Stars were practically in their eyes as they listened to Bokuto talk about running throughout the kingdom to get away from Ushijima and his crew.</p>
<p>Akaashi was just thankful that they were in the presence of the other crew members. He learned that Bokuto never asked him prying questions unless it was just the two of them. </p>
<p>Like back when they had that small bonfire. He waited for everyone to leave before asking Akaashi the question that he already seemed to know the answer to. </p>
<p>One thing he wasn't thankful for though, besides having to trail behind Bokuto like a lost puppy, was Oikawa's glare. </p>
<p>It was like a weight on Akaashi's shoulders, like a burning hole in the back of his head. It followed him around the deck, just like the way he was following Bokuto, and it never let up once. </p>
<p>And it was pretty clear to Akaashi as to why. </p>
<p>His punishment may have been bad for a number of reasons, but Iwaizumi's and Kuroo's were much worse. They were still scrubbing the deck with the tiny brushes, and while everyone had already eaten, they still had yet to. </p>
<p>Akaashi tried not to pay too much attention to them, because if he did, he'd start to feel terrible. </p>
<p>It was his fault that they were having to do that. Iwaizumi showed him some mercy, and he still ran away, because he felt like he had to. And what was worse was that he wasn't even entirely committed to running away—he hesitated at the gates that led into the richer parts of the kingdom. </p>
<p>He should have just turned back as soon as he second guessed himself. </p>
<p>But now Kuroo and Iwaizumi were paying the price for that.</p>
<p>Later in the afternoon, after a couple of hours of being outside and a couple of hours of Akaashi dreading when the time would come, Bokuto began to ascend the stairs and head right for his Captain's quarters. </p>
<p>Before leaving, he had made sure to tell Kageyama and Hinata to keep an eye on Kuroo and Iwaizumi to make sure that they finished cleaning the deck.</p>
<p>Akaashi followed him up the stairs, swallowing thickly before slipping into the room with Bokuto. </p>
<p>As soon as the door clicked shut, all Akaashi could hear was his own hammering heartbeat, and all he could focus on was how seemingly hard it was for him to breathe being in the same room with Bokuto.</p>
<p>Bokuto moved to sit down at his desk. Akaashi made a beeline for the bedroom. </p>
<p>“You're not really by my side if you're in my room, are you, angel?” Bokuto asked, once again making Akaashi stop short. Once again making him second-guess himself, like he always seemed to do.</p>
<p>Akaashi turned around, his hands clenching in annoyance once he realized Bokuto wasn't even looking at him, but instead his eyes were trained on the map again. </p>
<p>Why was he studying it so hard? Didn't maps already highlight where to go? </p>
<p>“You're going to have to stay in this room with me,” Bokuto said, finally looking up at him. Making eye contact with him made Akaashi's whole body tense up. “Where I can keep my eye on you at all times.” </p>
<p>“It's not like I'm going to run away anywhere,” Akaashi huffed slightly. Wouldn't it make more sense for Bokuto to put this rule in effect when they were on land, in a kingdom? </p>
<p>Well, it would have made sense, if that were the only reason for it. But Akaashi was sure there were other hidden motives under this punishment. Motives that Akaashi was going to try his hardest to avoid. </p>
<p>Even though it seemed to be going very wrong for him at the moment. </p>
<p>“How do I know that?” Bokuto said, turning back to the map yet again. “You said you weren't going to run off at the Kingdom of Osi.” </p>
<p>“Because we're on a <em>ship</em>.”</p>
<p>“A ship that you tried to jump off of, if I'm remembering it correctly.” </p>
<p>Akaashi clenched his fists. “You're the one you made me fall. I wasn't going to jump off.”</p>
<p>Bokuto looked up at him too quickly again after that sentence, making Akaashi immediately realize his mistake. He could see the question in Bokuto's eyes, could practically already hear him say something along the lines of, 'And why's that, princess?' in that taunting way of his.</p>
<p>“But that's besides the point,” Akaashi said quickly, averting his eyes. “That doesn't mean anything.” </p>
<p>He expected Bokuto to turn that sentence around on him too, but he just hummed, making Akaashi inwardly sigh in relief. </p>
<p>The room went silent again. It would have been fine, but that familiar cloud of <em>something</em> that seemed to always settle around them when they were in a room together was starting to form again, and Akaashi was getting bored standing in the middle of the room doing nothing. </p>
<p>He walked over to Bokuto's desk, standing to the left of him. Maybe he could busy himself by looking at the heaps of paper on his desk. </p>
<p>That couldn't lead to anything bad, right? Bokuto was being silent, attention completely focused on the map rather than him. </p>
<p>It would be fine. </p>
<p>Akaashi's eyes skimmed over the papers, landing on a certain one that caught his eye. It was different from the rest of them. It was a lighter white, contrasting against the light brown papers strewn across the desk. It seemed to have writing on it, too, not just drawings like on the other ones. </p>
<p>He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes to try and read what it said. He couldn't find any discerning words.</p>
<p>Curiosity got the better of him, and he unclasped his hands in front of him to reach for it. </p>
<p>Bokuto immediately reached out, placing his hand over Akaashi's own and pinning it against the desk. The movement startled him, and he turned his head to look at Bokuto. </p>
<p>“Did I say you can be rummaging around on my desk?” he asked, eyebrow raised. </p>
<p>Akaashi yanked his hand from under Bokuto's so quickly that someone would have thought that it burned him, and took a step away. </p>
<p>“Well, I have nothing better to do,” Akaashi huffed, crossing his arms. His hand still tingled from the sensation of Bokuto's own, and he felt like shaking it to get the feeling to go away. </p>
<p>“You can help me with this,” Bokuto said, scooting his chair over to the right slightly, making more room for Akaashi to see the map. </p>
<p>Akaashi nearly took a step forward, his curiosity getting the better of him yet again, before he registered what Bokuto said. </p>
<p>Akaashi narrowed his eyes at him. “<em>Help</em>? With the map? As if I'd help you get to a treasure that you're going to use to take over my kingdom.”</p>
<p>He may not be the best Hina royal in his father's eyes for a number of reasons, but there was no way he would be that bad of one. Even if his father hadn't drilled it into his head, he himself wouldn't want anyone taking over his kingdom, especially after seeing the way Ushijima ran the Kingdom of Osi. </p>
<p>“Who said I was going to do that?” </p>
<p>Akaashi didn't have time to process his words, because Bokuto gently grabbed his forearm and pulled him closer towards his chair.</p>
<p>His touch immediately sent Akaashi's heart racing, and he quickly moved it so Bokuto's grip loosened until his hand fell from his arm. He didn't take a step back, though.</p>
<p>For some reason, his touch was making him even more wary than usual. Was it because Bokuto helped patch up his wound? Was it because of his nightmare? </p>
<p>Akaashi placed his hand on his arm where Bokuto had touched him, as if shielding that part of him. </p>
<p>Bokuto ruffled around his desk, pulling out a map of all the Kingdoms with a compass rose on the top right of the page that showed exactly where they were located. </p>
<p>“You're going to write the names of all the Kingdoms on this map for me,” Bokuto explained, reaching over the desk to grab a pen. “Write them where they are located on this map.” He pointed to the Kingdom of Hina. “This is southwest, so write the name where southwest is on the map I took from Date Tech.” </p>
<p>Akaashi may have complained about being bored, but he definitely shouldn't be doing this to appease it. His newfound determination his nightmare had given him would be a waste if he did. He could already feel the guilt threatening to burst like a dam in his chest. </p>
<p>“Why can't you do it yourself?” he asked, rather harshly. </p>
<p>“I can't,” Bokuto simply replied, stretching out his hand to hold the pen up to him. </p>
<p>Akaashi scowled slightly, pushing the pen away from him. “I know you're only doing this because—” </p>
<p>“I don't know how to read or write.”</p>
<p>Akaashi swallowed the words he was originally going to say. “I–You don't?” </p>
<p>“I grew up in the slums. All the work I would have done if I stayed there didn't require schooling or reading and writing, so I was never taught,” Bokuto said. He shouldn't be feeling it, but for some reason, his answer made Akaashi feel bad. </p>
<p>He had no idea the people in the slums weren't taught how to read or write. It was considered almost a basic skill around the wealthier parts of the kingdom, and especially when it came to the royals. Why weren't the people in the slums being taught that?</p>
<p>Bokuto tilted his head. “What were you thinking?” </p>
<p>“Nothing,” Akaashi said quickly, too quickly, before taking the pen from Bokuto's hand and standing at the desk, the two maps in front of him. Bokuto was behind him, a little bit to the right, still sitting on his chair.</p>
<p>Even if Akaashi refused, he knew Bokuto would do something to get him to do it in the end. It couldn't be helped, and Akaashi would rather get it over with rather than fight with Bokuto and accidentally reveal something, like he almost just did. </p>
<p>Akaashi dipped the tip of the pen in the pitch black ink. </p>
<p>“Oikawa can read, so don't write just anything.” </p>
<p>Akaashi clenched the pen in his hand. “Then why isn't he doing this?” </p>
<p>He could almost imagine the teasing grin spreading on Bokuto's face. “Oh, you know, he's helping Iwaizumi, and he's so far away that I can't just call him to come here, and—” </p>
<p>Akaashi simply sighed loud enough to cut off his sarcastic words and began to write out the kingdom names. </p>
<p>He could feel Bokuto's eyes on him as his hand ran across the page. He was hyper aware of Bokuto's presence behind him too, so close but just not close enough to touch him. </p>
<p>He was so focused on Bokuto's presence, so focused on the map and wondering just where it could be located on the sea that he didn't have time to worry about how unroyal-like this all was.</p>
<p>The last kingdom name he wrote down on the northeast side of the map was the Kingdom of Osi, swallowing thickly as he did so. </p>
<p>Just the name seemed to make all the memories of the night before force their way into his mind. Specifically the conversation between Ushijima and Bokuto... </p>
<p>It had him wondering ever since he heard it, but everything had been too hectic that he didn't have the time to think about it. Didn't have the time to ask. </p>
<p>He shouldn't ask, though. He really shouldn't. But he just needed to check, just needed to know, that he wasn't the only one. </p>
<p>“Your father,” Akaashi started, breaking the silence between them. He knew that he was steering their conversation into a similar one that they had last night, but it didn't really matter at the moment. “He was a pirate, right?” </p>
<p>There was a short pause. “Yes.”</p>
<p>Akaashi thought he detected a hint of hopefulness in his voice, but he couldn’t be sure.</p>
<p>But he knew he recognized the name Bokuto when he first got on the ship those so many days ago. He just never knew that a pirate captain like that would have a son. </p>
<p>“Ushijima said that your father would be disappointed in you for saving me, and you looked upset at that,” Akaashi said, heart beginning to hammer in his ears. </p>
<p>“You were watching me?” Bokuto asked, voice low. </p>
<p>Akaashi couldn't tell if it was teasing or not, but he decided to ignore it. “Were you upset because... your father... expected you to do everything like him? And you feel like you have to? And if you don’t, you feel—I don’t know, bad?” </p>
<p>Yet again another pause. Akaashi was too scared to turn around to see why. </p>
<p>Maybe he said too much. No, he definitely said too much. He didn't even know why he was asking that in the first place. He already decided that he was going to act like an actual Hina royal, and he was already doing the exact opposite of that, and it's not like he was going to talk about whatever it was he was inferring with Bokuto, and—</p>
<p>“I was upset because Ushijima had the audacity to say that to me without even knowing my dad,” Bokuto started, effectively cutting off Akaashi's anxious thoughts. “My father taught me to be a pirate just like him, but even though I did something he wouldn't have, I don't care. This is my life, and I'm going to live it the way I want to, not the way someone else told me I should.” </p>
<p>Akaashi's breath caught in his throat. Bokuto said that so strongly, so effortlessly, so devoid of guilt... it made an unfamiliar emotion tug at his heart. Was it envy? Jealousy? Or was it something more positive then that?</p>
<p>“But didn't you become a pirate because of him?” Akaashi asked, hoping to steer their conversation in another direction, because he was starting to feel that familiar atmosphere settling over them once again.</p>
<p>“I did,” Bokuto answered, “but only to carry on what every other pirate is doing.” </p>
<p>“W-What do you mean?” Akaashi asked, dread settling like a rock in his gut. </p>
<p>“You don't know why people become pirates, do you?” </p>
<p>“I thought it's only because they hate royals,” Akaashi said, because it was the only thing he's been told on why pirates go against kingdoms. </p>
<p>Bokuto chuckled at that. “Well, mostly. The main reason why people become pirates, besides being able to sail on the seas, eat properly, and make money easily by attacking royal ships, is because they want to make a change. People in the slums are treated terribly by royals, and we want to put a stop to it. But the only way to make a change is by doing illegal stuff, like going against the kingdom.”</p>
<p>Akaashi widened his eyes slightly. All this time, his father told him that pirates were evil, and that they only went against royals because they were jealous and selfish. But—Bokuto was telling him that he became a pirate to make a change. He became a pirate for a selfless reason, for a good reason.</p>
<p>And Bokuto couldn't be lying to him by saying that, because yesterday night, Tendou had said the exact same thing. </p>
<p>“Of course, some pirates have different definitions of change,” Bokuto said. “They think all royals are flawed and will keep treating them that way, so to finally change that, they think royals should be dethroned or killed while pirates run the kingdoms instead. I don't think that way, though—well, not when it comes to you, at least.” </p>
<p>There was that familiar shift in the atmosphere again. Akaashi had thought he'd gotten rid of it, but Bokuto always managed to bring it back by lowering his voice to a murmur and saying something that sounded so.... genuine. </p>
<p>“Why not?”</p>
<p>The chair creaked as Bokuto stood up. Akaashi was too nervous to turn around and face him, but it multiplied when he felt Bokuto come up behind him, close but just not close enough that his chest was pressed against his back. </p>
<p>“Well,” Bokuto whispered, right next to his ear. “If pirates do take over all the kingdoms,” he placed his hands on the desk, on either side of Akaashi, “it's going to be quite a challenge to keep you safe.” </p>
<p>“You'd try and keep me safe if all the kingdom's were taken over by pirates?” Akaashi asked, his tone implying that Bokuto was crazy for thinking that. </p>
<p>He moved closer, chest pressed against his back. It made Akaashi wish he was facing him, because then he'd be able to push him away. Right now, he could only use his elbows to push him away, which he knew Bokuto would easily stop. </p>
<p>“Of course I would,” Bokuto said, voice low and mouth still right next to his ear. “I told you already, princess. You're not like the other royals, so I'm not going to let anybody put their hands on you.”</p>
<p>Akaashi swallowed thickly, that same unfamiliar feeling rushing up in his gut. He had to steer the conversation away from this, because for some reason, Bokuto's words were messing with his head.</p>
<p>“Do pirates hate royals that much that they'd still try and kill me?” Akaashi whispered, voice small. “Even if they took over all the kingdoms, have royals been so bad to them that they'd still want me dead? Even though I had no more power?”</p>
<p>Bokuto pulled away from him, and he finally felt like he could breathe again. </p>
<p>“Come with me, angel,” Bokuto said, walking around his desk and towards the door, the wooden floor creaking under his weight. He grabbed the door handle before looking back at him, “I'll tell you how people in the slums were treated by royals.”</p>
<p>                     *          *          *</p>
<p>Within ten minutes, everyone was gathered around yet another campfire. The pairs all sat together again, with Akaashi right at Bokuto's side. </p>
<p>Iwaizumi and Kuroo were finally eating, barely taking a breath between shoving food in their mouths. Oikawa passed between watching Iwaizumi eat and glaring at Akaashi. </p>
<p>“What are we all doing here?” Oikawa grumbled. </p>
<p>“Your Highness here wants to know what you guys went through in the slums,” Bokuto said, snaking an arm around his waist. The motion made Akaashi tense, but he relaxed slightly when Bokuto didn't go anywhere near his scars—but his shoulders immediately went back up to his ears when Bokuto pulled him closer. </p>
<p>Bokuto's statement was met with silence. The only sound to fill the tense emptiness was the crackling of the fire. </p>
<p>“What?” Hinata spoke up first, voice full of surprise and genuine curiosity. “You want to know about us?”</p>
<p>Oikawa snorted. “Yeah, sure. Captain probably forced him to do this.”</p>
<p>"Oikawa,” Bokuto said, voice as sharp as a sword. “Why don't you refrain from saying any more bad things about the prince?”</p>
<p>Oikawa averted his eyes, but his jaw tensed. “Yes, Captain.”</p>
<p>The smile was back on Bokuto's face so quickly that it almost gave Akaashi whiplash. “Great. Hinata, Kageyama, you go first.” </p>
<p>Akaashi learned that Hinata and Kageyama had both been born in the Kingdom of Croria, and worked on the fishing boats ever since they were twelve to offer further support to their families. </p>
<p>Just their ages when they started to work was enough to make Akaashi inwardly wince.</p>
<p>“When I turned nineteen, my little sister got really sick,” Hinata continued, looking into the fire. The flames reflected in his brown eyes. “Since I spent almost all day catching fish for the assho—” he quickly cleared his throat “—the people inside the walls and the castle, and I never got a single one, I figured taking one wouldn't be so bad. But the royal guards who went with us on the fishing trips caught me, and they beat me almost half to death. If Tobio hadn't stepped in—”</p>
<p>Kageyama slung an arm around Hinata's shoulders, pulling him into his side. Hinata loosely held onto his shirt. </p>
<p>“I'm fine,” he said. “After that happened, me and Tobio met Bokuto, and we became a part of his crew. I was able to help my sister, and the people who did that to me got what was coming to them.”</p>
<p>“We ate so much fish that month,” Kageyama reminisced. Everyone hummed in agreement, and Akaashi was so close to Bokuto that he could feel the rumble in his chest when he did so. </p>
<p>His story created a dull ache in Akaashi's heart. He couldn’t believe Hinata was beaten up just for trying to feed his family. </p>
<p>Next was Kenma and Kuroo, who were born and lived in the Kingdom of Hina, though they didn't have as bad a backstory as Hinata. He still learned that they had to resort to stealing food unless they wanted to starve. Though the food they stole wasn't enough, because they had to share half of it with their families. And if they got caught but other people in the slums, who were also trying their hardest to survive, they'd get a beating just like Hinata did. </p>
<p>Iwaizumi was also born in the Kingdom of Croria, and he had always wanted to be a royal guard to mainly protect the kingdom, but also because they got paid just slightly better than other jobs in the slums. But when he grew up and started noticing how corrupt the kingdom was and what the royal guards, his own people, were doing to people in the slums, he realized he couldn't live with himself if he had to do that. </p>
<p>Iwaizumi and the others said they never blamed people who became royal guards, though. Not all of them had to do the dirty work of beating people up and other terrible things for the King, but they did hold a grudge against the royals guards who did do that dirty work. </p>
<p>Akaashi practically curled in on himself. Not only were royals treating people in the slums terribly, they were also getting the people in the slums to turn on each other.</p>
<p>Then, at long last, everyone's attention turned to Oikawa. </p>
<p>He was tapping his foot against the deck, arms crossed across his chest and looking away from the fire. </p>
<p>“I was born in the Kingdom of Hina, too,” he started. “I lived in the slums, obviously, but I was better off then everyone else because my mother made jewelry for the royals. She was amazing at it—the Queen would give her the diamonds and she'd make something beautiful out of them. It required a steady hand, putting all the diamonds in place, and not to mention she had a vision for those kinds of things.”</p>
<p>“But then the wealthy people wanted her to make some jewelry for them, too,” he continued, turning his head to look at the fire. “They were willing to pay her much more than the royals were, and for simpler pieces, too. And since she had me and my sister, it would mean we'd actually get to eat a proper meal for once. So she took the offer.”</p>
<p>“It went well for a little bit. She was making a lot more money, she was able to pay for my sister and I to get a bit of an education from one of the wealthy people she made jewelry for, and we finally weren't being treated like shit. But then the Queen found out.” </p>
<p>He knew this was coming, but Akaashi's heart sank at Oikawa's words. </p>
<p>“Obviously, she was furious. She only wanted to have the best jewelry in the Kingdom, and the royals have this thing where they don't want people in the slums to live a comfortable life, because all the money my mother was getting could be going to them. One day she was called to the castle, for what she thought was another job, but when she came back—”</p>
<p>Oikawa cut himself off, his hands clenching into fists. </p>
<p>“The King had broken her hand so she couldn't make jewelry anymore,” Oikawa said. “So she couldn't make a living anymore, couldn't feed us or herself anymore, couldn't give us an education anymore. And the day after that, royal guards came and stole all of the money my mother had earned and gave it back to the King.” </p>
<p>Akaashi's breath got caught in his throat. His head was spinning. His father broke a woman's hand because—</p>
<p>Well he couldn't even pin-point why. Because she was making money? Because she was making jewelry for other people besides his mother? Because he just felt like it? </p>
<p>He doesn't remember being there when it happened, because if he was, he was sure he would have tried to stop it from happening.</p>
<p>“My mother broke the rules, just trying to do something for people, for us, and the King punished her in a terrible, irreversible way to make sure she could never do it again,” Oikawa said. </p>
<p>His sentence made Akaashi's blood run cold. It didn't sit right with him; it made an uncomfortable feeling settle in his gut at the fleeting thought that he related exactly to what Oikawa had just said. </p>
<p>As a Hina royal, he shouldn't feel bad, not an ounce of sympathy or empathy, but he couldn't help himself from feeling that way. “I'm... so sorry.”</p>
<p>Oikawa glared at him more ferociously than he ever had before. “Like hell you are. You're a royal, and you would have continued doing everything that your father was doing if you stayed in your kingdom. You're probably going to <em>keep</em> doing it if you go back to your kingdom—“</p>
<p>“That's not—!”</p>
<p>But Akaashi couldn't deny that. What kind of royal would he be if he denied that he wouldn't act like one?</p>
<p>Suddenly, the fire was growing too hot, and he was aware of how much he was sweating. The faint crackling of the fire was growing louder, beginning to sound like gunshots that banged around in his head, too loud for him to think. </p>
<p>He had to get away. Had to get some fresh air to be able to think clearly. </p>
<p>He jumped up, walking away from the fire and towards the railing of the ship. He didn't care if he was breaking the rules of his punishment at the moment. If Bokuto had called out to him, he didn't hear it—Oikawa's words were still echoing in his head. </p>
<p>He gripped onto the railing, breathing shallow. </p>
<p>He couldn't wrap his head around all the things he's just heard. How badly the royals treated people in the slums; how terrible it must have been for them, to wonder when their next meal would be, if they even would get to have a next meal; and how he could relate to the way some of them had been treated. </p>
<p>Feeling the wind against his face was calming him down slightly, his breathing beginning to even out.</p>
<p>To think that all of that was going on just under his nose. To think that he would have probably unknowingly treated people like that when he became King. </p>
<p>If it was a Hina royal's job to do that, or just a royal in general, he didn't think he would be able to be one. The thought of treating people like that nearly made him sick to his stomach. </p>
<p>And the fact that his father could treat him the same way, so easily— </p>
<p>Maybe that nightmare he had wasn't to remind him to act more like a Hina royal. </p>
<p>Maybe he had that nightmare to show him how unfairly and poorly he had been treated by his father. </p>
<p>These past couple of days have left him feeling so conflicted, like an ocean storm was raging inside of his mind and heart. He thought Bokuto was just trying to make him feel like even more of a terrible royal by asking him all those questions, by making him question his kingdom and father. </p>
<p>He looked over at Bokuto. The fire was illuminating his face as he talked to the rest of his crew, arms crossed against his chest. </p>
<p>Bokuto turned his head to look over at him. Akaashi quickly looked back out at the ocean.</p>
<p>But now—now he was starting to think that was never Bokuto's intention at all. </p>
<p>Now, he was starting to think that Bokuto was just trying to open his eyes on everything that he's been blind to.</p>
<p>                   *          *          *</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” Bokuto asked, once they were back in his Captain's quarters, in the room with the desk. </p>
<p>Bokuto hadn’t mentioned anything about him breaking the rules of his punishment, so Akaashi decided not to bring it up, either.</p>
<p>Akaashi stayed by the door, one arm crossed to hold onto his other forearm, as he watched Bokuto walk towards the desk and pick up the candle, the flame still burning bright. </p>
<p>“I... don't know,” Akaashi said. It wasn't a lie. He felt all sorts of things—terrible, conflicted, uncomfortable. All the unsavory emotions he could feel were all swarming around in his chest, and he just wanted it to stop. “I never knew royals treated people like that.”</p>
<p>Akaashi had never treated anyone how his father had. But that didn't stop him from feeling bad, especially since there were plenty of other people who still hated him for the things his father did. </p>
<p>And from learning about his father’s actions toward people in the slums, Akaashi didn't blame everyone for hating him, either. Though that did nothing to make the guilt ebb away.</p>
<p>“What do you think, now that you know?” Bokuto cupped his hand over the flame of the candle to stop it from blowing out, walking slowly away from the desk and towards his room. </p>
<p>The question was something Akaashi had already answered in his head—he hated it. He hated that his father treated people like that, and he hated that his father treated him the same way without a second thought. </p>
<p>But as always, Bokuto didn't need to know that. </p>
<p>“I don't want to talk about it,” Akaashi said, following Bokuto into the room. </p>
<p>Bokuto had placed the candle on the nightstand to the right side of the bed, the side farthest from the doorway. </p>
<p>To further prove his point of not wanting to talk, Akaashi took off his boots and slid into the bed. He laid his head down on the two pillows, and laid on his side that didn't have the cut on it and closed his eyes, hoping that would make Bokuto stop his questions. </p>
<p>His eyes flew open when he heard the shuffling of silk clothes against bare skin. </p>
<p>Akaashi pushed himself up with his hands, turning his head to look straight ahead towards where the dresser was. </p>
<p>His face heated up as he caught the tail end of Bokuto taking off his shirt, exposing his broad shoulders. The orange glow of the candle illuminated his flexing back muscles as he moved to pull the sleeves off of his arms. </p>
<p>“What are you doing?” Akaashi all but sputtered, snapping his eyes to Bokuto's face as he turned around after throwing his shirt onto the dresser. </p>
<p>“Getting ready for bed?” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. </p>
<p>Bokuto didn’t bother to put on another shirt, making alarm bells sound off in Akaashi’s head.</p>
<p>Akaashi pulled the sheets up to his chest, his heart hammering in his ears as Bokuto took a couple of steps closer to the right side of the bed. "You're sleeping here?" </p>
<p>“I am, princess. It's my bed, after all,” he said, placing one knee on the mattress and leaning towards Akaashi. Akaashi pressed himself back against the headboard, as if something would happen to him if Bokuto got too close. “Is that a problem?” </p>
<p>“Am I sleeping in the chair, then?” Akaashi asked, voice sounding small. </p>
<p>His eyes followed as Bokuto placed his hands on the mattress near Akaashi's legs, causing the bed to dip slightly. Akaashi pulled his legs up to his chest, heart racing. </p>
<p>“Did you forget about your punishment?” Bokuto leaned closer, about halfway over the bed by now. He wasn't that close to Akaashi, but the movement sent his heart rate skyrocketing yet again. “You're not allowed to leave my side, so you can't leave the room.”</p>
<p>Akaashi already had a feeling that he'd say that, so why was he so nervous?</p>
<p>“What if I do?”</p>
<p>At that, Bokuto brought his other knee onto the bed, leaning the tiniest bit closer to him. The candle illuminated the playful smirk forming on his face. </p>
<p>“Why don't you leave this room to find out what happens when you do?” Bokuto’s voice was at a murmur now. An unfamiliar, fleeting feeling that Akaashi couldn't quite pinpoint formed in his gut. It probably wasn't anything good. </p>
<p>Akaashi considered actually leaving, since the consequences for breaking his stupid punishment couldn't be as bad as how he felt at the thought of sharing a bed with Bokuto. </p>
<p>But the excitement in Bokuto's eyes as he waited for him to get up and leave was enough to root him into place. Maybe the consequences were as bad, if the excitement in his eyes was anything to go by. </p>
<p>Akaashi grabbed one of the pillows from behind him and pushed Bokuto away with it, because touching his bare skin would be too much on top of everything that was already happening.</p>
<p>Even though the thought of acting like a Hina royal was unappealing to him now, he was still a royal. And royals should not be sharing beds with pirates. </p>
<p>But really, as always, Akaashi had no other choice. </p>
<p>Bokuto chuckled as he pushed himself up so he was on his knees, getting farther away from Akaashi. </p>
<p>Akaashi grabbed the second pillow on Bokuto's side of the bed and placed one where both of their heads would be, and one just under that, closer to the foot of the bed, right in between the two of them. </p>
<p>“Do not even <em>think</em> of crossing this,” Akaashi said pointedly, turning around so his back faced the pillow barrier and, most importantly, Bokuto. </p>
<p>Bokuto chuckled again, deep in his chest. “Do you think a pillow barrier is gonna stop me?”</p>
<p>“It better stop you,” Akaashi said, because he's been through this scenario enough to know that despite Bokuto's words, he knew that he wasn't going to do anything. </p>
<p>“Okay,” Bokuto said, and Akaashi could practically hear the smile in his voice. “Goodnight, angel.” </p>
<p>Akaashi didn't respond as Bokuto settled into bed. </p>
<p>He couldn't tell if Bokuto was facing him or not, but he really hoped it was the latter. </p>
<p>He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep quickly. But it was hard. Despite the two pillows between them, Bokuto's presence looked large over him. He could still feel the dip in the bed at Bokuto's weight, could still feel everyone minuscule movement he made, could still hear his soft breathing. </p>
<p>Akaashi waited until Bokuto's breathing evened out, a sign that he was asleep, and for good measure, waited until he heard him snore softly before starting to allow himself to drift off to sleep as well. </p>
<p>                       *          *          * </p>
<p>That night, Akaashi didn't have a nightmare. Not about the thing his father did to him so long ago, and not about what could have happened back at the Kingdom of Osi if he hadn't done anything. </p>
<p>He woke up to an empty bed and the same thing that happened the day before—he huffed before pulling the collar of the shirt back up towards his neck. And this time, much to his dismay, the bottom of the shirt rolled up to reveal his abdomen. He huffed before pulling that down to cover his bare skin as well. </p>
<p>As soon as his feet touched the floor, he could tell something was off. </p>
<p>He's gotten used to what the ship felt like when it was moving, cutting through the waves, the always slight rock of the ship—but now, he couldn't feel anything. </p>
<p>Akaashi slipped his boots on, stopping in the doorway to see if Bokuto was at his desk, where he usually was. </p>
<p>When he wasn't there, Akaashi quickly made his way to the door and stepped out onto the small balcony right in front of Bokuto's room that overlooked the main deck. </p>
<p>In the distance, looking like a speck of dirt on a picture of the ocean, was one of the seven kingdoms. He had no clue which kingdom it was, but he knew it wasn't his own—they hadn't been traveling for long enough to be even remotely close to his kingdom. </p>
<p>Being so far away from the kingdom was weird enough, but when he didn't hear any chatter in ears, any footsteps creaking across the deck, he looked down to see a main deck devoid of people. </p>
<p>He was worried now. </p>
<p>To his right, there was a small island with a single tree that Akaashi had only seen in books—a palm tree. The island was so small that it would only take around thirty steps to reach one side to the other. </p>
<p>And, just like he thought the minute he set his feet on the floor, the ship wasn't moving. </p>
<p>It was docked at the small island, probably a couple of miles away from the kingdom, and there was no sign of anyone on the deck. </p>
<p>Akaashi sucked in a sharp breath. </p>
<p>He seemed to be completely alone on the ship.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for all of your comments and Kudos on the last chapter, they make me so happy! :) </p>
<p>You can also come say hi on Twitter @sunnysmilessss ! </p>
<p>As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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